Celebrate the Holidays Safely

This post is sponsored by BabbleBoxx.com on behalf of Erie Insurance.

Growing up, the holidays were always a really big deal in our family. From Thanksgiving through New Year’s Day, we had one family get together after another and those weeks always felt like a whirlwind of parties, celebrations and lots of eating! Most of my memories are of fun and joyous celebrations that went off pretty much without a hitch. But there were a few holiday mishaps that stand out in my mind. Those “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” kind of incidents that we can laugh about now, but maybe weren’t quite so funny at the time. In an effort to help you avoid these type of mishaps, I’m sharing some tips on how to celebrate a hazard-free holiday season.

First, when decorating your home, be sure to select a tree that is free of bugs or other little critters.

Everyone remembers that scene in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation when the squirrel jumps out of the tree and races around the house. While we never had a squirrel in our tree (we did have one come down our chimney, but that’s a whole other post), we did have a tree that was infested with bugs one year. We had bought a tree from a local tree farm and started noticing some flea-like bugs around the tree area shortly after setting it up. It only took a little while before we confirmed that they were indeed coming from the tree. We took off the decorations, took it outside, and sprayed it with an entire can of Raid – pine scented of course. A cloud of bugs fell out of the tree onto the ground. Ick! We set the tree back up and within a week, all of the needles also fell off.

Next, make sure your cooking pans do not have holes in them.

New Year’s Day was always a big party in my family. Both my aunt and my grandmother were born on January 1st, so we would throw quite the party to celebrate. One year we decided that prime rib would be a wonderful treat. We were finishing it up under the broiler when we realized the foil pan had a hole in it and the fatty juice was running to the bottom of the oven where it promptly caught on fire! Luckily, my dad thought quickly and slammed the oven closed and turned it off. The prime rib actually turned out really well with a little bit of a charred finish.

In reality, more people with holiday fires find that they happen as a result of their Christmas tree going up in flames. Underwatering, plugging too many lights into one socket and placing the tree too close to the fireplace can all result in tree fires. Check out Erie Insurance’s Very Merry Mishap Special (don’t worry – it’s kid-friendly!) for lots of tips on how to celebrate your holidays safely. While my family can laugh about our holiday mishaps now, that’s only because nothing serious really happened. Check out the video below for an example of what can happen if the proper precautions aren’t taken. And be sure to click on the link at the end for tips on how to prevent this scenario in your home!

Lastly, make sure your drive and walkways are free of ice.

Last winter, I went to take Roofus for a walk and didn’t realize the driveway was covered with black ice. I took one step out of the garage at the same time that Roofus spotted the dog across the street out in her yard. He doesn’t pull hard, but when your feet are on sheer ice, it doesn’t take much. One minute I was standing at the top of the driveway, the next I was sitting at the end of it wondering what happened. Again, it’s only funny because I didn’t get hurt. With a number of older relatives stopping by on Christmas Eve, keeping our walkways clear is a real concern.