Have you put your festive decorations up yet? We’re getting into the festive spirit – we’ve even decorated a tree with twinkly lights in our office.
Imagine what Christmas would be like during a power cut? All those tree lights would disappear. Still, that doesn’t mean to say you have to be totally without light, just use one or more of these items.
1. Torches
It’s not a bad idea to have a few torches around the house at Christmas, you never know when they’ll come in handy. Most torches need batteries though so keep a stockpile in the cupboard, you don’t want to be rushing to the shops in a desperate bid to find A-rated power sources. Remember, thousands of households buy batteries at Christmas so stock up in plenty of time.
2. Candles
Waxed candles are useful in a power cut and they’ve got a seasonal feel to them at Christmas. It’s cosy to sit around a fire as candles flicker away in the background, dig out a battery powered radio and listen to carols by the fireside.
3. Tea lights
Tiny little tea lights are handy to use for emergency lighting and they look pretty in tea light holders too. Place them on mantelpieces, window ledges and along the top of furniture to illuminate a room.
4. LED lights
Battery powered LED lights are popular at Christmas, people drape them on trees, hang them around mirrors and place them inside traditional garlands as well. The good thing about LED tree lights is they’ll keep on twinkling away even if you lose the mains power.
5. Oil lamps
Try a traditional approach to lighting the home and rely on the power of paraffin or specialist lamp oil. This type of lighting was popular until electricity became widely available and it’s still an effective light source to use in an emergency.
6. Wind up lamps
More commonly used for camping, wind-up lanterns can be a great asset if the mains lighting goes down for whatever reason. Don’t spend Christmas in the dark, rummage through your camping gear and put wind-up lighting to good use, it’ll keep you going until your tree lights flick back on again!
