Health & Fitness
"The Second Thing at Christmas That's Such a Pain to Me..."
Tips and links to safely decorate your home and survive the upcoming holiday season with your home, your stuff, and hopefully your sanity, intact.
"...Rigging up the lights!"
Contrary to this entry's title, I love Christmas. I also happen to love parody songs. If you haven't heard the "Twelve Pains of Christmas", you are absolutely missing some laughs. (Yes, I'm watching it on You Tube while I'm writing this!)
All kidding aside, we've finished decorating the house inside and out. Now my OCD can go into overdrive. Here's just a sample of my pre-bedtime Christmas decoration checking routine:
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- Double check that the candles are all blown out. Did I get the one in the powder room?
- Make sure the timer on the outdoor lights has turned off.
- Lock the deadbolt.
- Check the other doors and locks.
- Turn off the Christmas "village." Turn off all of the inline "roller" switches, switch off the surge protector and unplug it.
- Unplug the lights for both indoor trees. They're artificial, so I don't have to worry about water...what's that crackling?
- Make sure the timer on the outdoor lights has turned off.
- Lock the deadbolt.
- Double check that the candles are all blown out...
Well, you get the picture. One thing is certain, our fortress is secure! "Yes, honey, I'm checking the lights again."
You don't have to go to the extremes that I do to have a safe and happy Christmas season. All you have to do is use your head. Easier said than done? You're in luck. Not only will you be inundated with safety tips on television, if you've got a home PC (if you're reading this, I know you do), you can find literally millions of articles on holiday safety. Rather than list all of those tips here, I'll give you a couple of the more helpful links.
Find out what's happening in Montgomerywith free, real-time updates from Patch.
- Holiday decorating safety: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/611.pdf.
- Decorating safely with small children: http://www.safekids.org/safety-basics/safety-spotlight/holiday-decorating-safety/.
- Travel safety: http://www.insurance.com/features/holiday-travel-safety-tips-from-insurancecom.aspx.
And, for an exceptional article on keeping your home safe while you travel, check out the Woodstock-Towne Lake Patch, November 23 edition. You can find it under Patch's House and Home, Holiday Guide 2011. Or, click this link: .
I hope you find these articles as helpful as I did. They're easy reading and gave me a couple of ideas I hadn't thought of.
I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas, a Happy New Year, and a safe and healthy holiday season!
