Christmas Light Safety: Strands, Cords and Ladders

This guide is for anyone decorating inside or outside the house with string lights this holiday season.

Holiday lights are one of the easiest decorations to get right, and one of the easiest to get wrong. Most of the risk comes from worn wiring, overloaded outlets and ladders.

Why it matters

The USFA says almost one-third of home Christmas tree fires are caused by electrical problems.¹ CPSC reports about 160 decorating-related injuries a day, on average, during the holiday season, with over 40% involving falls.²

Before you plug anything in

• Inspect every strand. The USFA says to throw away light strands with frayed or pinched wires.¹
• Follow the connection limit. The USFA says to read the manufacturer’s instructions for how many strands to connect.¹ CPSC says never to string together more than three sets of incandescent lights.²
• Don’t overload outlets. CPSC says never to overload electrical outlets.²

Our advice: use lights marked for outdoor use outside, and lights marked for indoor use inside. Look for a safety certification mark from a recognized testing lab on the packaging.

Candles and flame

CPSC says never to leave candles unattended and to use flameless candles whenever possible.² The USFA says to keep candles at least 12 inches from anything that burns.¹

Ladders and roofs

With so many decorating injuries involving falls,² our advice is:

• Set the ladder on firm, level ground and have someone hold it.
• Don’t stand on the top rungs.
• Skip the roof in wet, icy or windy weather.
• Use plastic clips made for lights instead of nails or staples, which can damage wires.

Every night

Our advice: turn off indoor and outdoor lights when you go to bed or leave the house. An outdoor-rated timer makes it automatic.

Checklist

• Toss strands with frayed or pinched wires.
• Follow the maker’s limit on connected strands.
• Don’t overload outlets.
• Indoor lights inside, outdoor-rated lights outside.
• Lights off at bedtime.

Decorating a real tree? See how to keep a Christmas tree fresh.