Safe ways to decorate your buses this holiday season

One question we occasionally see is whether it's safe to decorate school buses for the year-end holidays. Generally speaking, the answer is yes! As long as you keep student safety in mind, and use some common sense, there's no reason you can't decorate your buses for the holidays.

So, let's talk about some of the creative ways we've seen buses dressed up for the holidays. Here are some ideas for you and your drivers!

Safe Holiday Decorations For Buses

1 - Make sure everything is secured and unbreakable

Before getting into specifics, probably the most important thing to keep in mind is that any decorations need to be as secure as possible. Don't have any loose items that could potentially become projectiles in an accident - glue or tape them down as best you can.

Likewise, anything you put on or in the bus should be reasonably unbreakable. Plastic is better than glass, and soft objects, like stuffed animals, are better than hard objects.

2 - Lights on the sides of the bus

Assuming they are wired up properly and reasonably secured, it's safe to put string lights on the bus exterior. We see pictures of decked-out buses every year. However, we would recommend contacting your local police department first just to make sure they won't run afoul of any local vehicle lighting ordinances.

3 - Small fake Christmas trees

If you're thinking of adding a Christmas tree to the interior, keep it small, and keep it fake. Having a real wood tree in the bus could invite pests onboard, plus the pine needles will get everywhere. Also, there's a small chance of children being allergic to genuine trees. Pine allergies are rare, but do exist.

The best place for it would probably be in the entry wells, assuming there's still room for people to board.

4 - Front-mounted decorations

Can decorations on the grill or hood compromise student safety? Not if they're kept reasonably small, are well secured, and don't significantly obstruct the driver's vision. In addition be sure you aren't inadvertently blocking any necessary airflow or venting.

Also, we'd strongly recommend NOT putting anything on the top of the bus, which would increase its overall height and introduce the risk of hitting things with the decorations.

5 - Costumes

Assuming the administration is OK with it, there's no safety reason a driver couldn't dress up as Santa, an elf, or any other (appropriate) favorite holiday character. Obviously, this should be entirely optional.

Also, make sure drivers are aware that those Santa costumes will probably get very hot over the course of a long drive. They may want a Plan B for getting rid of the costume mid-route, if they get too sweaty.

6 - Student decorations

Bus decoration doesn't have to be all about the bus driver. Let the students contribute! Create a short list of safety-focused rules, and then let them add their own decorations to the pile.

However, the driver or other staff should be the ones to actually hang/mount the decorations. That will ensure they're safely secured.

7 - Don't forget the other holidays

Remember: Not everyone celebrates Christmas. Try to work in at least a bit of decoration for Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Festivus, and/or pagan celebrations. If you happen to know a student celebrates a particular non-Christmas holiday, be sure they're represented so they don't feel left out.

BusBoss is always here to help you improve student safety on buses! Contact us to learn more about our consulting services.

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