Holiday Safety Tips

by

Vicki Hinze

1. Buddy up! Avoid traveling or shopping alone at night. There’s safety in numbers.

2. Keep your kids close. This is not the time to let them wander across the store or away from you. Know where they are, and keep them within arm’s reach.

3. Lock your doors. To your car and your home.

4. In parking lots: Stick to parking in well lighted areas as near the entrance as you can manage, and avoid slots next to vans or autos with dark tinted windows you can’t see beyond. Have your keys in your hand before leaving the store, and try to walk out at the same time others are departing the store.

5. Stash packages. Don’t leave them where they’re visible to those looking in your windows. Not at home and not in your car.

6. If you get a funny feeling you’re being followed, heed it. If someone appears to be watching you, they likely are. Ask Store Security to walk you to your car.

7. Keep your receipts. Don’t leave them where others can take them and use them to steal your identity. Swipe your own card and shield with your hand so no one sees your name or PIN number.

1. Thaw food in the fridge and not on the counter. Be sure what you’re thawing isn’t touching other cooked foods or foods you eat raw.

2. Don’t leave cooked food sitting out. Never longer than 2 hours, and less time is better—especially fast-bacteria multipliers like turkey and/or dressing. Get cooked food stored in the fridge or freezer quickly to avoid food contamination, and be sure to write the date on packages going in the freezer. (More people wind up in the ER during the holidays from eating spoiled food than other holiday-related causes!)

3. Keep hot food and drinks away from counter edges where little ones can reach and pull them down on themselves.

4. Wash your hands often to avoid contaminating food or dishes. Wash raw vegetables thoroughly and fully cook all meat. If in doubt, use a thermometer! And keep raw food away from cooked food.

5. Be sure to monitor guests so no one indulging in too much holiday cheer gets behind the wheel of a car, or takes off on foot alone, where s/he is vulnerable to becoming a victim or a statistic.

6. Watch the kids! With little ones, we all know everything goes in the mouth. Tasting this or that can result in them choking. Be mindful of where they are and what they’re doing; eating or drinking.

1. Stringing lights. Pay attention and follow instructions on connecting stringing together lights. (Fire officials recommend no more than three strings should be connected even if the instructions say more is okay.) Make sure your tree is fire-resistant, or your real tree isn’t dry, and thus prone to fire. Never leave the lights on when you leave home or when you go to bed.

2. Avoid hanging breakable ornaments low on a tree or other decorations where a little one can grab them, break them, and be cut on shattered pieces or eat broken glass.

3. Be mindful of ribbons. Pets and kids can choke on them or choke with them.

4. Be mindful of ladders. Don’t use them in ways other than are proven safe, and avoid standing on chairs and the like that can slip. You want a safe holiday, not one spent in the ER.

5. Put tags and strings and potential hazards in the trash immediately. They can be everything from tripping hazards that result in falls to choking hazards.

6. Never, never burn gift wrapping paper in your fireplace. It can cause flash fires.

1. Get enough rest and try not to overdo. Sleepy, tired people are more prone to accidents.

2. Pay attention. Watch out for yourself and others, ever aware of who and what is going on around you.

3. Don’t multi-task to the point you lose focus. Accidents happen when we lose focus.

4. Start early with doing what you must do so that you’re not stressed to the max and jammed for time.

The holidays bring out the best and worst in people. Be vigilant, cautious, and if you note oddities, report them.

This isn’t the time to ignore those little nudges that something isn’t right. Remember, you often pick up on subtle things and don’t really register them because your attention is elsewhere. But listening to your intuition, respecting those nudges and acting on them, can spare you from becoming a victim.

Enjoy yourself. It’s your holiday, too! Be safe, but also build in time to relax and just enjoy being with your family and friends.

That joy is what the season is all about!

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© 2015, Vicki Hinze. Hinze is the award-winning, USA Today bestselling author of nearly thirty novels in a variety of genres including, suspense, mystery, thriller, and romantic or faith-affirming thrillers. Her latest release is The Marked Bride, Shadow Watchers, Book 1. She holds a MFA in Creative Writing and a Ph.D. in Philosophy, Theocentric Business and Ethics. Hinze’s online community: Facebook. Books. Twitter. Contact.www.vickihinze.com. Subscribe to Vicki’s Newsletter.