Outdoor holiday lights pose fall risk: CSA

This is the weekend tens of thousands of Canadians climb ladders, hang from rooftops and untangle strings of holiday lights that have been stuffed away for the past year.

Unfortunately, many will also be visiting emergency departments and walk-in clinics to deal with cuts, bruises, burns and broken bones caused by light-hanging mishaps.

Along with applying a little common sense when hanging precariously from a snow-covered roof, wannabe Clark Griswolds may also want to take their injury-prevention cues from groups like the Canadian Standards Association.

When pulling the lights out of the basement or garage, the CSA advises that each string be carefully inspected, and any with frayed cords, cracked lamp holders or loose connections should be discarded.

To avoid nasty accidents involving exploding bulbs, cuts and electrical burns, strings should not be plugged in while bulbs are being replaced.

As tempting as it is to tack strings of light to metal eavestroughs, the CSA warns against it. One of the leading causes of holiday fires is bulbs being too close to gutters filled with dried leaves.

CSA also warns that electrical connectors should be kept above the ground, out of snow and puddles. Insulated fasteners should also be used rather than nails, tacks or staples to hold lights in place.

Big retailers recalls and deals

Two of Canada's biggest holiday light retailers are in the news for entirely different reasons.

Home Depot is recalling all the LED light strings it sold between Oct. 1 and Nov. 18 due to quality issues. The retailer says there are no known safety issues with the products, and the recall is voluntary.

Meantime, Canadian Tire is trying to entice consumers to buy strings of Noma lights from its outlets with an offer that almost sounds too good to be true.

The Canadian retail icon is giving away $2 million worth of gift cards to people who buy Noma lights on Saturday or Sunday.

For every string of lights worth $15 or more, Canadian Tire will give each buyer a $10 gift card. The offer is unlimited, so someone buying 10 strings of lights would walk away with $100 worth of gift cards.

The deal is good at all 482 Canadian Tire outlets.