Be Careful With Those Holiday Lights!

We decorate just about everything with lights at our house! Central Maine Power reminds us to be safe with these tips:

• C.M.P. recommends not stringing together more than 3 strands of lights.
• If you are going to string together a lot of lights, use LEDs. They draw a fraction of the power and they don't get hot.
• Only have lights on when you are at home and awake. Turn them off before you go to bed.
• Miniature lights are much less drying to a fresh tree.
• If you have a fresh tree, keep it fresh by cutting it's base at a 45 degree angle watering it liberally. Fresh trees drink between a quart and a gallon of water a day!
• Check for UL labeling on the lights.
• Throw away any with damaged cords, lights or receptacles.
• Don't overload extension cords and keep them out of the way so that nobody trips over them.
• Avoid using plastic trees unless they're flame resistant and never use electrical lights on metallic trees.
• Be careful of power lines if you are decorating trees or the outside of your house. No line is safe to touch. Evah!
• Make sure to replace the batteries in your smoke detectors.

Have a safe, colorful holiday season!

Celeste