Cinnamon scent, mistletoes, and family dinners. The most wonderful time of the year is here! But while the holidays are a joyful time to spend together with family and friends, a careless mistake can really wreck the festivities. We’ve put together a collection of winter holiday safety tips to ensure you have a happy and safe holiday season.
Prepare Your Home
Keep your pets away from holiday plants
Poinsettias, holly, mistletoe, and real Christmas trees are toxic to animals, so be sure to keep your pets aways from these.
Be diligent with home security
The holiday season unfortunately sees an increase in break-ins and theft. Therefore, it’s important to always lock your doors, keep the garage closed, and lock windows. If you’re traveling during the holiday season, read our previous article for more safety tips.
Holiday Fire Safety Tips
Electrical safety tips
Watch your extension cords. Don’t run them under carpets, through doorways, or in places where furniture may damage them. Don’t overload cords or outlets by plugging in too many decorations.
Christmas light safety
Use only indoor lights inside and never exceed the recommended wattage. Be sure to buy decorations that have a CSA-recognized safety approval mark. You should be able to see the approval sticker on the cord of the light strings.
Use the fireplace with care
Use a screen on the fireplace at all times when a fire is burning. Keep kids and pets away, be careful when placing decorations, and always make sure the fire is out before going to bed or leaving the house. If you hang Christmas stockings on the fireplace mantle, remove them before lighting the fire.
Use candles safely
Cinnamon- and apple-scented candles can really make the mood, but candles should always be burning in sight and away from flammable items.When you leave the house or the room, always blow out candles.
Check your safety alarms
Check your smoke alarms, carbon monoxide detector, fire extinguisher, and first-aid kit before the holiday season.
Christmas tree safety
Place your tree at least three feet away from fireplaces, radiators, and other heat sources, making certain not to block doorways. If using an artificial tree, check that it is labeled “fire resistant”.
Holiday Hosting Safety Tips
Handle and prepare food safely
It can be easy to forget or overlook important food handling guidelines in the rush to prepare food. Do not skip food prep steps and raw meat practices to ensure the safety of all your guests.
Avoid unattended cooking
It can be challenging to balance preparing a meal, being a good host, and entertaining all at the same time. Make sure there is always someone to help you so you’re not doing everything on your own.
Keep an extra eye on kids and pets
With so much going on, it is essential to know who is supervising the kids and keeping an eye on pets.
Drive safe
Offer your guests the option to stay over or have a designated driver to take people home at the end of the night and ensure no one is driving drunk.
For more tips on Chicago living and property-related topics, explore our blog.
