Holiday lighting displays are a beloved holiday tradition. Many families enjoy illuminating their homes with decorative lights, and some communities even reward the household that goes above and beyond with their holiday lighting display.

But as enjoyable and eye-catching as such displays can be, they also can be equally as dangerous. Hanging lights carries a certain degree of risk, and it’s best for homeowners to be as cautious as possible when erecting their holiday lighting displays.

• Start with the lights. Inspecting the lights is an important part of creating a safe holiday lighting display, and this inspection should occur before you begin decorating. Examine each string of lights for damaged wires, including any loose connections or broken sockets. Discard any damaged sets before decorating. If your inspection turns up any burned out bulbs, always replace the older bulbs with new bulbs of the same wattage. In the past, a good rule of thumb was to limit each extension cord to no more than three sets of lights. However, if using LED bulbs, which consume as much as 90 percent less energy than traditional incandescent bulbs, you can have more sets connected to a single extension cord.