TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — A family invention could be helpful to those who plan a future of hanging their stockings by the chimney with care.

Dan and Sandy Grant have spent the last year designing a childproof rod-and-hook system that they call The Celebration Hook.

The idea was to create a safety precaution for the couple’s four kids, whose tugs frequently sent Christmas stockings and hooks tumbling down onto themselves. 

Every year about 13,000 Americans end up in the emergency room because of Christmas decorating accidents, with young children falling victim to heavy stocking hangers, according to the latest holiday decorating-related injuries and investigation recorded by the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission in 2009.

“Last year our daughter grabbed a stocking while she was learning to walk and the hook fell on her foot,” Sandy said. “That’s when we decided maybe other people need this too and we shouldn’t just design it for ourselves.”

The rod’s length can adjust from 3 feet 10 inches to 6 feet 9 inches to fit whatever mantle or entertainment center it is attached to. Hooks that fasten underneath the rod can hold a combined weight of 25 pounds.

They engineered the device with the help of family members Doug and Brenda Schaub.

 “It’s pretty easy and straightforward,” said Dan. “It doesn’t scratch anything when it clamps on.”

The couple began selling the Celebration Hook in November after experimenting with several prototypes.

“The learning curve has been fantastic,” Sandy said. “We’ve never done anything like this before so learning how to do business has been really cool.”

The couple hopes to market their hook as a tool that can be used year round.

“We want to have ornaments for things like Valentines Day, birthdays and St. Patricks Day so people can keep interchanging the decorations out,” Sandy said.

A Celebration Hook 2 is also in the works to display signs and banners at social events and fundraisers, Dan said.

Woodward writes for the Record (Michigan) Eagle.