A Short Guide to Holiday Safety

It’s safe to say that many of you out there are quite fond of the holiday season. There’s spending time with the family, delicious foods and treats (which gives me a reason to take a “brief” break from exercise) and just the sense of something magical and heart-warming in the air. However, despite the child-like wonder feeling in the atmosphere, the holiday season also holds many perils. Now, if you went out for Black Friday shopping (you’re much braver than I!) and survived, you’re half way through the dangerous part! But we still all have a month of battling Mother Nature, rival shoppers/drivers and in-laws left, so don’t let your guard down just yet!

Unfortunately, we don’t have information regarding the best place to find the greatest sales or how to make a mouthwatering holiday feast with all the fixings…BUT as a family friendly company whose sole purpose is to keep everyone safe, 911Cellular is second to none when it comes to providing quality safety tips and information. So, as our holiday gift to all our existing friends and those we have yet to meet here is a list of tips we hope you use to have a fantastic, and even more important, safe holiday season.

Holiday Safety: Home Safety Tips

• Make sure, if you have an artificial tree, that it has a label that reads “Flame resistant.”
• Whether you have an artificial or a live tree, be sure to not keep it near the fireplace, a radiator, space heaters and/or any place where it may catch on fire.
• If you’re hanging up lights this year, DOUBLE CHECK there are no frayed wires. **This is a common cause of house fires. Also, make sure to turn off all lights prior to going to sleep.
• Be aware of the high traffic areas in your home. Do not place your tree or any large decorations in those areas to avoid any family or friends tripping and hurting themselves. Also, so your decorations don’t get broken themselves!

Holiday Safety: Shopping Tips

• Safe guard you’ credit cards/debit cards as you would your cash! Women, keep your purses close to you and men, keep your wallets in your front pockets (it’s more difficult to be stolen from front as opposed to back pockets).
• Double check you have all your things, licenses, credit cards, etc., after a purchase, before leaving the check-out counter!
• Keep your receipts from all your purchases, and then use them to check your bank/credit card statements for any Identity Theft in your accounts.
• With the sheer volume of visitors to malls and shopping centers, criminals blend-in and hide easily amongst the chaos. They use the opportunity to go from car to car to steal what they want. So while you’re out buying the perfect gifts for your family and friends, make sure to LOCK your car doors and do NOT leave anything of value in plain sight.
• If you shop at night, make sure to you walk with someone to your car! Criminals are less likely to approach a group, as opposed to individuals. Safety in numbers!

Holiday Safety: Travel Tips

• If you’re planning a trip don’t say so on social media! You just make the criminals job that much easier by posting “The fam and I are at the airport and can’t wait for our week long trip to….” Only post things after you have already returned. This will reduce your chances of getting a very troublesome call on your vacation.
• If you’re traveling during the holidays, ask a neighbor or a friend to drive by and pick-up your mail. A tell-tale sign that no one is home is the mail pilling up in your mailbox.
• Do not turn off every light in your house! A house with all the lights consistently off is another sign that no one’s home. Keep a few lights on and maybe leave a car in the driveway to give the impression that your house is NOT unoccupied and ready to be broken into! Alternatively invest in a timer that will switch lights on and off .

If you follow the tips above, you’ll improve your chances of having a safer, less stressful and much happier holiday season! Because after all, who doesn’t like having constant peace of mind, especially during the most stressful time of the year?

Of course, if you know of any tips we may have left out, share them here in the comments. This is, after all, the time of giving and sharing is caring! Also, visit our social media pages for more tips on safety. Thanks everyone and have a wonderful holiday season!

Tags: Stay safe