5 tips on how to keep your home safe over Christmas

The Christmas holiday season is upon us and whilst we appreciate you might be inundated with parties, putting up the last of the decorations and trying to squeeze in last-minute shopping we’d just like to share a friendly reminder with you on how best to keep your home and belongings safe whilst still having fun.

Here are our top five tips to help you do just that:

1.    Watch your Christmas lights
You can’t help but be dazzled by the abundance of twinkly fairy lights on display as you drive around your local area and whilst they look amazing, it’s important to remember not to overload your power system. Please remember to turn all your lights off if you go out and especially before you go to bed to avoid any fire risks.

Top tip: when its time to take your lights down, check for frayed cords and broken bulbs so you can fix them and safely store them away for next year – or you know to throw them out and buy more in the January sales.

2.    Check your smoke alarms
It’s a good habit to check your smoke alarms at least once a month, and if it’s been a little longer, now is definitely the time to check with all the additional Christmas lights and decorations dotted throughout your home. As they could potentially prove to be an additional fire hazard, a quick test can give you peace of mind.

Top tip: If you didn’t already know West Sussex Fire & Rescue offer a free home safety visit for advice on how to make your home safer, find out all the information here.

3.    Don’t help burglars with their window shopping
Keeping your newly purchased gifts away from the windows will help avoid unwanted attention from potential burglars who may like to first spy what they could possibly steal. Local police throughout the country, in the run up to Christmas (as part of their Christmas crackdown campaign) are advising us to keep presents away from places where they can be seen from the outside, and also being vigilant with locking windows and doors.

4.    Make sure you put your candles out
There is nothing cosier than a candlelit room on a cold, dark winters night especially when you are surrounded by sparkly Christmas lights; watching Christmas films and sipping a glass of warm mulled wine. But, always remember to make sure any candles are extinguished before you go up to bed. One of the biggest causes of house fires this time of year is an unattended candle according to the NHS; house fires in December increase by up to 40%. Please don’t be one of their statistics.

Top tip: Unattended candles are the main fire risk as they are easily forgotten about, so only light candles in the room you are spending the majority of the evening in.

5.    Notify a neighbour
If you are planning on visiting friends and relatives over the holiday season, it’s a good idea to let a trusted neighbour know so they may keep an eye on your home whilst you are away. They can pick up any post, take the bins in / out, draw curtains and switch on lights for you (if you don’t already have an automatic timer), which helps give the illusion that someone is home to deter potential thefts.

Top tip: Avoid announcing your going away on social media, even though this is sharing information with your friends, you don’t know who your friends are friends with and so on and so on.

Prevent a potential disaster this Christmas by taking these sensible precautions so you can have peace of mind and enjoy the festive season in style.