With more than 5,000 lights and 100 holiday characters, the Christmas display around Frank Suster's home in 'Ewa Beach can probably be seen by pilots making their final approach to Honolulu International Airport.

Suster, the facilities and safety manager for City Mill, has reindeer on the roof and 100 lighted candy canes in the front yard. He has a miniature train, a manger, rope lights, icicles on the eaves, angels in the driveway — a snowman, too — and a giant Christmas star on a coconut tree.

Everywhere you look, the 56-year-old Suster has created twinkling beauty — most of it handmade. He's been going "all out" like this for 18 years.

"It's all made out of plywood," he said. "If I see something I like, I sketch it out and make it."

Not every homeowner gets as involved in outdoor holiday lighting as Suster, but basic safety precautions and electrical common sense still apply. They're the keys to keeping the happy in your holidays.

STAY GROUNDED

Extension cords are the first thing on Suster's checklist. Make sure you are using three-pronged extension cords so that you'll have a grounded connection, he said.

"Extension cords come in gauges," he said. "The smaller the number, the heavier the gauge. Normally, for Christmas lights a 16-gauge extension cord will be enough."

KNOW YOUR LIMITS

Using the right outlet and not overloading it with lights is also important, Suster said. Most circuit breakers, especially those for outlets in your garage and around the baseboards of your home, are limited to 20 amps, he said.

Your collection of lights cannot exceed that limit at each outlet. In fact, Hawaiian Electric Co. recommends you limit the load to three-fourths of the outlet's capacity, Suster said.

Each string of lights or display will have a tag on the end that explains the number of amps it uses, so you can add up what you have beforehand.

BE SURE TO COUNT

Most manufacturers limit the number of light strings you can connect, usually to three or four, so be sure to read the directions or you will blow a fuse, Suster said.

As long as you keep to the 20-amp limit, you can connect several strands, routing them through extension cords that feature more than one place to plug in lights, Suster said.

"You can put 15 strands on that one outlet," he said. "When I am putting up 5,000 lights in my house, I am using at least 50 100-foot strands. I have a two-story house, so I will use maybe two independent circuit breakers upstairs and two downstairs."

Suster uses electrician's tape to keep water out of the places where light strings connect or plug into extension cords.

PLEASE DON'T TOUCH

While people shouldn't hang lights on metal objects, it happens a lot, Suster said.

"A lot of people put them on their chainlink fence, but if the wire is exposed, the fence could become electrified. You touch the fence and you will get a shock."

Wires should be replaced regularly. That's a serious issue. Suster replaces his every five to seven years.

The Honolulu Fire Department considers exposed wiring a source of injury or fire.

Light strings should be inspected before they are plugged in, and you should never attempt to repair one that is cut, said Capt. Terry Seelig, a fire department spokesman.

"If the lights have any kind of crack at all, don't use them," he said. "You should only use lights in good condition. If you are in doubt, throw it out."

The lights should never be plugged in while they are being strung, Seelig said. The potential for a shock is always there.

"They are energized when you are doing that," he said. "It can be enough to cause you to fall off your ladder. It can cause you to fall off a roof. It is one of the hazards of electricity. A shock can harm you."

Rooftop decorations, most of which are meant to be on the ground, also need to be secured, Seelig said.

"You don't want Frosty flying through your neighbor's window," he said.

PREFERENCE: UH GREEN

At Suster's house, where everything is weighted down with cinder blocks or tied tightly, the whole display takes three days to assemble. This year, Suster started the day after Thanksgiving and turned on the lights that Sunday.

It was beautiful, of course, but this year Suster wishes he could scrap it.

"Only a few homes are all lit up in 'Ewa Beach, so I really don't know what the theme is this year," he said. "If I could start all over, it would be University of Hawai'i football. It would be all green."

Reach Mike Gordon at mgordon@honoluluadvertiser.com.