Halloween Deck Safety
Halloween is one of the most ostentatiously decorated holidays of the calendar. From witches and skeletons to pumpkins and spiderwebs, there is no limit to American ingenuity when it comes to turning our front porches into deliciously frightening haunted houses on All Hallow’s Eve. With all of those decorations, it’s very easy for things to get out of hand. We’ve put together some important safety measures to consider so your haunted house remains pretend-scary and not real-scary this year.
Walkway Safety
Everyone from grade school trick-or-treaters to moms with babies in strollers is going to be stepping on your front walkway, so it’s important to keep it safe for them. The biggest risk is a walkway that is poorly lit. In lieu of one big spotlight, why not try some of these ideas for lighting your front walk:
- Battery operated rope lights. They’re available in many different colors to match your outdoor display.
- Battery operated tea lights. Place them in hollowed out mini pumpkins or clear plastic holders, placed 8”-12” apart.
- Glow-in-the-dark necklace chains. Attach multiple necklaces end to end and braid them together, as long as you need them. A neat way to outline your walkway!
- Solar lights. These are classic, and definitely available in lots of spooky versions this time of year.
Haunted Decoration Safety
What’s Halloween without a few choice front porch decorations? It’s easy to get carried away with the most frightening front porch in the entire neighborhood. Keep in mind, these displays often require taking up the entire front porch (and the front of the house). As such, there are safety concerns that need to be kept in mind.
- Tape down extension cords with painter’s tape. Painter’s tape is safe on all surfaces and easy to remove. This makes the cords themselves easy to see so no one trips and easy to remove once the fun’s done. Also, don’t run cords through main paths of egress if you can avoid it.
- Everyone loves those spooky spider webs, but they are also flammable. Be sure to keep them away from all dryer and exhaust vents.
- In case of fire, keep all paths of egress clear: doors and ground floor windows.
With a little advance safety preparation, there’s no need for real worry when you should be scared. Make sure to take pictures and have plenty of candy!