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Greetings fellow Geeks!  With Thanksgiving now behind us, I’m sure many of you are turning your thoughts toward Christmas, and Christmas decorating.  Here are a few tips from the Geek for you to think about before you launch your holiday decorating.  

My tips are going to tend towards the electrical, gadgetry, and technology aspect of decorating, but before I go there, remember that the number 1 rule is safety first.  Whether it’s climbing a ladder, hanging lights in that tree near the power lines, or getting up on a roof, be safe and know your limits.

When running extension cords, use common sense.  Don’t run them under rugs, or across doorways, or anywhere someone might trip over them.  Also, know the rating of your extension cord (most cords are rated at 10 amps or less) and how much power whatever you’re plugging in to the other end will be pulling.  A few minutes after you first plug everything in, check the extension cord.  If it gets warm or hot, you’re overloading it.  Move some of the load to another cord.

Now for my favorite topic – lights.  I LOVE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS. Inside or out, they brighten the entire season.  They are also super-cheap.  100-count strings of mini-lights can be purchased for under $2.50.  Many of these strings have a plug that has an outlet on the back, so you can plug another set right in.  Some also have an outlet on the opposite end so you can daisy-chain multiple strings together.  When plugging light strings together it’s tempting to just keep plugging into the most handy outlet, but with incandescent lights, it’s usually only safe to plug a maximum of 3 or 4 strings together.  The newer LED strings are another story.  They use about 90% less electricity than conventional lights, so you can safely plug together dozens of strings.  Regardless of the type, all strings of lights have tiny little fuses built into the plugs, so if you exceed the rating, you’ll know it pretty quickly when everything suddenly goes off.  Also make sure you only put decorations outside that are marked with an Underwriter’s Laboratory sticker approving them for outdoor use.