Family gatherings, entertaining, holiday decorations -- these are but a few of the activities that make the winter holidays so special and memorable. But each of these activities brings with it an element of fire risk. Each year during the winter holiday season, fires occur, often with tragic results.

The winter holidays are a time for celebration, and that means more  cooking, home decorating, entertaining, and an increased risk of fire due to heating equipment.

Safety tips:

Holiday decorating

• Use caution with holiday decorations and whenever possible, choose those made with flame-resistant, flame-retardant or non-combustible materials.
• Keep candles away from decorations and other combustible materials, and do not use candles to decorate Christmas trees .
• Purchase only lights and electrical decorations bearing the name of an independent testing lab, and follow the manufacturer's instructions for installation and maintenance.
• Carefully inspect new and previously used light strings and replace damaged items before plugging lights in. Do not overload extension cords.
• Check your strands of lights to determine the number of strands that may be connected.  Connect no more than three strands of push-in bulbs and a maximum of 50 bulbs for screw-in bulbs.
• Always unplug lights before replacing light bulbs or fuses.
• Don't mount lights in any way that can damage the cord's wire insulation (i.e., using clips, not nails).
• Keep children and pets away from light strings and electrical decorations.
• Turn off all light strings and decorations before leaving home or going to bed.

Holiday entertaining

• Unattended cooking is the leading cause of home fires in the U.S. When cooking for holiday visitors, remember to keep an eye on the range.
• If you smoke, smoke outside.
• Wherever you smoke, provide plenty of large, deep sturdy ashtrays and check them frequently. Cigarette butts can smolder in the trash and cause a fire, so completely douse cigarette butts with water before discarding.
• After a party, always check on, between and under upholstery and cushions and inside trash cans for cigarette butts that may be smoldering.
• Keep matches and lighters up high, out of sight and reach of children (preferably in a locked cabinet). When smokers visit your home, ask them to keep their smoking materials with them so young children do not touch them.
• Test your smoke alarms, and let guests know what your fire escape planis.