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Having an artificial Christmas tree at home is better than getting a fresh tree, safety-wise. The danger of fire is dramatically reduced with an artificial tree, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t have any safety issues. If you decide to get a fresh tree for Christmas anyway, here are a couple of things to remember about caring for a freshly-cut Christmas tree.

Fires caused by fresh trees usually occur because the trees are dead and dry, so it’s important to keep your tree alive and moist. Start by choosing one that hasn’t been turned into firewood. Young, growing trees are the best ones to get. You check if they’re healthy by pulling on the pine needles; if they come off easily, that’s not a very good sign. The trunk should also be sticky and the limbs must be flexible.

Once you take the tree home, cut off two inches below the trunk. This creates a fresh cut for the tree to soak in water. If you don’t do this, the tree won’t be able to take in water as efficiently.

The best way to fireproof your Christmas tree is to keep it hydrated. They also dry out with heat, so it’s important to keep your tree cool and far from heat sources like the fire place or heater vents.

Do not dispose of the tree by burning because a burning tree is difficult to control and may burn faster than you expect. Get rid of the tree by the time the new year comes around because the longer it stays in the house, the more the tree dries up and becomes a fire hazard.

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Nothing spreads the warmth and fuzziness of the holiday season the way candles do. But be careful–candles are potentially deadly. The average number of household candle fires occurs during December, with Christmas day bringing the most number of candle fires in a year. About 40% of candle fires occur in bedrooms and account for approximately 30% of fire-related deaths.

So what can you do to prevent this from happening?

The best candle safety tip I can give is to not burn candles at all. You can buy very realistic flameless, battery-operated candles made out of real wax. Some of them are scented and come in holiday motifs, such as this set of winter scene candles from flamelesscandles.net. These make the perfect addition to any holiday display without having to worry about fire-related accidents taking place.

But if you must insist on using real candles, make sure you don’t leave them unattended and that you snuff them out before leaving a room or going to sleep. Keep them away from things that can easily catch fire, like curtains or magazines. Place your candles in sturdy candle holders large enough to collect the dripping wax. Keep candle wicks trimmed to a quarter of an inch, and extinguish pillar candles once they’re two inches away from the holder.

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Decorating your dining table for Christmas can be as elegant or as simple as you want, but you don’t have to spend a lot of money to make it uplifting and eye-catching. If you’re a little strapped for cash, work on a budget then decide on your theme. The traditional red-and-green always works, or you can go along with your home’s color scheme and use your table decorations to complement it.

A wreath on the center of the table makes for a nice holiday centerpiece. You can decorate it with objects that you’d like to use as a theme, or put ribbons and bows if you have no theme in mind. Place candles inside the wreath, but make sure that the wax doesn’t come into contact with anything that could start a fire.

Continue to carry out the theme using table napkins. Get two napkins of different colors for each table setting; place one on top of the other or roll them together. Tie them with a colorful wired ribbon and arrange them artfully on the center of each plate.

You could also get dishes according to your table’s theme. For example, if your theme is poinsettias, purchase plates, cups, and saucers with poinsettia patterns. If you have printed plates, make sure that your table cloth and napkins come in plain colors so your dining table doesn’t get overwhelmed by too many patterns.

Repeating the color scheme or pattern is essential to giving your dining table a unified look. Happy decorating!