Enjoy A Safe Holiday Season
The Last Thing Your Holidays Needs Is An Accident.
The holiday season is fun — travel, family, decorating, food, and games! They can also be stressful — travel, family, decorating, cooking, and entertaining! Here are some simple ways that you can take a little bit of the stress out of the holidays by keeping your home equipped for a safe holiday season.
Keep Things Green and Bright
While a cut tree is a great addition to any Christmas, be certain you keep your tree watered — a dry tree quickly becomes a fire hazard, and all those needles it drops are no fun to clean up, either. Any lights you put outdoors need to be attached to an all-weather extension cord that can stand the load; they should also be put up with plastic clips or tape rather than conductive metal tacks or staples.
Do not leave candle unattended, especially on fabric-covered tables or next to fabric-upholstered chairs. Keep them out of the reach of children as well. Modern LED-using battery-powered candles are a great alternative to the traditional flaming variants. Similarly, fireplaces need to be extinguished entirely when you’re done with them — no matter what they’re burning. This also the right time of year to test your carbon monoxide detectors, if you have them.
Leaving For The Holidays
If you’re going to be visiting family over the holidays, be certain you don’t show off the fact that you’ll be gone. Ask the newspaper to halt delivery for the duration, and have your mail forwarded — or have a neighbor collect both for you. Leave a light or two on — if possible, on timers so make it look the most realistic. If you can manage to leave your car in the driveway and take a taxi (or have a neighbor park in your driveway), so much the better.
Keep Healthy — It’s Cold & Flu Season
One of the least fortunate part of visiting a bunch of people you don’t usually see is that it’s easy to catch something from them — which can make your winter dismal in a hurry. Get plenty of rest, wash your hands regularly (especially when the guests are over), and eat plenty of fresh veggies, no matter how much you’d rather pack your face with stuffing.
Don’t Get Hurt
There are lots of potential ways to get hurt during the holidays. Be conscientious about salting the sidewalk and blowing the snow off the driveway. Use a stepladder when putting up lights on the house or the tree. Leave the fireworks to the professionals.
There’s a lot of wonderful things about the holidays — but a single incident can put a crimp on your time that may ruin the whole season. Stay safe and happy this year with just a little extra attention to detail.