Enjoy a happy holiday with these important decorating safety tips.

Now that the holiday season is officially underway, it's time to start thinking about dressing your home for the most wonderful time of the year. While breaking out your holiday décor is a great way to really take advantage of the coming weeks, it also brings some hazards to your home. Keep your family safe and your holiday merry with these holiday decorating safety tips.

• Before you start hanging holiday decorations, lay out a game plan. Knowing what will go where will help you avoid overloading outlets. Work your plan so that you never need to string more than three consecutive strands of lights together. Also, before you start hanging inspect your lights for any frayed wiring or broken bulbs.
• If you need to buy new lights for the holidays, choose LED lights. Not only are they more energy efficient, they also give off more light but don't get as hot!
• When hanging your décor, stay away from metal ladders. Wood or fiberglass ones won't conduct electricity, so they're a much safer bet.
• Be careful about the tree you choose. A too-old tree will quickly turn to a large, ready-to-burn piece of kindling in your home! Look for a tree with needles that resist being pulled off and don't break when you bend them between your fingers. These things indicate freshness. (Plus, a fresher tree will minimize the amount of needles you need to sweep off the floor through the season).

Should your holiday décor cause an issue in your home, would your Calimesa, CA homeowners insurance be sufficient to cover it? Avoid unexpected expense this holiday season by contacting Little & Sons Insurance Services. We're dedicated to serving homeowners in Banning, Beaumont, Calimesa, Redlands, and throughout Northern California with the coverage they need.