The holidays are upon us and that means it’s time to deck the halls, make your list, and delight in the beauty of the season. It’s also the perfect time to perform a home safety check.
You see, whether you’re entertaining, traveling, or simply enjoying a quiet evening at home, a little planning and forethought can help ensure that your holidays are not only merry and bright, but worry-free.
Here are 9 things to consider when getting your home “holiday ready”:
- If you’re traveling, ask a neighbor to keep an eye on your house, shovel snow, and park in your driveway occasionally.
- When going out for the evening, turn off holiday lights, blow out candles, and put out the fireplace or wood burning stove completely.
- When choosing a real Christmas tree, look for one with green, bendable needles. Trim a couple inches off the trunk to promote water absorption, and place the tree away from sources of heat.
- Always inspect lights and extension cords before use. If you see any signs of damage, better to buy new than to risk a fire.
- Don’t connect more than 3 light strands together to prevent overworking a socket.
- Consider using battery operated flameless candles instead of fire burning candles.
- Choose your decorations wisely. For example, if you have small children in the house, place fragile items out of reach and avoid using decorations that look like candy or food.
- Enforce a kid (and pet) free zone in the kitchen while cooking and never leave cooking food unattended.
- Keep walkways to your front door clear of decorations or other obstructions. And stock up on ice melt and/or sand for those icy patches that might pop up over the course of your celebration. In fact, it’s a good idea to have winter’s supply of ice melting material on hand.
The biggest risk of holiday season home mishaps is fire, so please do everything in your power to protect your home and family this holiday season.
