How to Fix Christmas Animated Decorations

These moving decorations bring flash to your front yard decorations, and indoor moving decorations add entertainment to your holiday decor. Whether you have modern or vintage Christmas ornaments on your Christmas tree, you can find animated decorations that suit your home decor.

Depending on the type of moving Christmas decorations, there are a variety of different ways to troubleshoot and fix them, and you don't need to be a professional handyman to do so. The most obvious thing to check first is the connection. Is it plugged in and turned on? Assuming that's not the problem, try other troubleshooting efforts to keep your animated decorations working for next year.

Some moving decorations work with batteries, so the first step is to try putting in fresh batteries to see if that brings them back to life. If the decoration plugs into an electrical outlet, check the outlet to make sure it is working.

If the batteries are not to blame, the switch in an animated decoration could be the problem. Take apart the switch, cut off the leads and touch the two wires together. If this turns on the decoration, you'll know it's the switch that is bad.

Using alligator clips, connect that switch to a multimeter. Multimeters have connectivity testers that show numbers to indicate if a switch is working. If your multimeter shows the number "1," you'll know that the switch is broken.

If testing shows the switch is broken, remove the batteries from the decoration and replace the switch. Remove the switch from its housing. Order a replacement switch from the manufacturer or from an online store like Amazon. Then, install the new switch and replace the batteries. This may fix the problem.

In some cases, a few bad bulbs can cause the entire decoration to stop working. This is one reason decorations like outdoor wire lawn deer or other animated Christmas yard decorations stop working.

On the bright side, light repair and replacing broken LED Christmas light bulbs is cheaper than buying a new deer. In some cases, the decorations come with a few replacement bulbs, but if not, you can usually use a new rope of 100 white wire lights. Make sure you select outdoor Christmas lights as an indoor string of lights isn't safe to use outside in inclement weather.

Check each bulb on the decoration and replace any burned-out bulbs. If you have a light tester or bulb tester, that can make the process of finding the bad bulbs easier. Be sure to work carefully; otherwise, you could break some of the lights that are working.

Christmas animatronic figures are much more complicated than wire lawn figures and range from small moving figures to life-size versions. Popular favorites include Santa, Mrs. Claus, the Grinch, elves and Harry Potter. Some are controlled remotely through your computer or smartphone.

If your animatronics are not working, you can check the program for glitches and run a virus scan. These apps may also have wizards that come with them to help you with the troubleshooting.

The larger types of animated Christmas figures can be quite expensive, many costing well over a few hundred dollars. Some are sound- and motion-activated as well. If yours is still not working after you have done the DIY troubleshooting and made minor repairs, it could be a broken part.

Given the price of these items, it may be worth your while to contact the manufacturer and explain the issue in detail. The company may guide you through additional troubleshooting to get to the root of the problem.

You may be able to order a replacement part and if your decoration is still under warranty, you may be able to send it in for repairs.

Animated decorations and animatronics are fun additions to your holiday decor but with all the moving parts, repairing a broken decoration can be difficult. Take these simple steps to troubleshoot the problem.