December 20 - Hanukkah begins
 

December 21 - Winter begins

December 25 - Christmas
 

December 26 - Kwanzaa begins
 

December 31 - New Years Eve
 

Keep Your Home Safe during the Holidays
 

Holiday absences and the presence of an abnormal number of

valuables and gifts make homes more attractive to thieves during the

holidays.

Making a home look occupied is the best way to prevent a break-in.

This means keeping the sidewalks and driveways shoveled and

plowed, having mail and newspapers picked up by neighbors or

having both stopped, and keeping the lights on.  A dead giveaway that

the occupant is gone is a home that has been lit up for weeks with

holiday decorations and then is suddenly dark.

If people are home at Christmas, the lights are on, a dark house looks

unlived-in. 

Keeping presents away from windows also is wise.  Homeowners

should pull shades or curtains if a Christmas tress is in a room with a

large window.

If it is right by the main window and the presents are piled up, other

people can see the presents too.  If it can be seen, not only can the

neighbors see it, but criminals can see it too.


Homeowners also should be concerned about preventing theft from

their garages and vehicles, which during the holidays may contain

gifts.

People know there are going to be gifts in the house, obviously, it is

easy pickings, the criminals will know there's more stuff in the house.

Be festive; be safe

More holiday tips:

T Mail gifts or gift cards with money or checks from a postal drop box or post office.
 

T Get a timer for indoor and outdoor lights.
 

T Turn a radio on when away from home.
 

T Have neighbors watch your home.
 

T Keep vehicles locked when in the driveway.
 

T Don't store gifts in garage or in other exterior structures on property.
 

T Have someone walk around your home and leave tracks in the snow.
 

T Break down boxes from holiday gifts and put in trash receptacle or recycle bin rather than setting them out by the road.
 

T Put gifts away in the home after opening instead of leaving them under the tree.
 

Preventing holiday fires

Holiday-season-related fires annually cause 2,600 injuries and result in

more than $930 million in damages.  Here are some tips from the

United States Fire Administration.
 

T Check smoke detectors and replace batteries.
 

T Trees should be fresh; on a fresh tree, needles should be green and hard to pull back from the branches.
 

T Do not place your tree close to a heat source - a fireplace, a heat vent, candles or ash trays.
 

T Do not put your live tree up too early or leave it up for longer than two weeks. Keep the tree stand full with water at all times.
 

T Never put tree branches or needles in a fireplace or wood-burning stove. Dispose of trees at a recycling center or through a community pickup service.
 

T Never burn used wrapping paper in a fireplace. It can throw off dangerous sparks and produce a chemical buildup in the home that could cause an explosion.
 

T Before putting them up each year, inspect holiday lights for frayed wires, bare spots, gaps in the insulation, broken or cracked sockets and excessive kinking or wear. Use only lighting listed by an approved testing laboratory.
 

T Do not link more than three light strands, unless the directions indicate doing so is safe. If using an extension cord, connect light strings to the cord before plugging it into the outlet. Make sure to periodically check the wires; they should not be warm to the touch.
 

T Lit lights should not be left unattended.
 

T All decorations, including artificial trees, should be nonflammable or flame-retardant and placed away from heat vents.
 

T Use candles in stable holders and place them where they cannot easily be knocked down. Never put lit candles on a tree.

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