Just like Santa working around the clock for Christmas, safety never takes a break during the holiday season. Shorter days, winter weather, travel, outdoor activities and holiday preparations bring a whole variety of potential safety hazards our way. Throw in long weekends and it’s the perfect recipe for a safety slip-up. Unlike Grandma’s Christmas sugar cookies, that’s one recipe you do not want to ask for. Instead, let’s check out Santa’s recipe for safe holiday success!
Recipe for a Safe Holiday Season
1 dash of injury-free decorating
2 tablespoons of safe winter driving
3 cups of healthy food handling
4 ounces of harmless gift-giving
5 pinches of health and safety checks
Mix well and do not bake – instead keep an eye out for fire starters
In all seriousness, here are some great tips from the National Safety Council on how to ensure your holidays are safe.
In light of the current pandemic, please follow all local health and safety guidelines however you choose to celebrate this holiday season. You can view current CDC recommendations here.
Decorate Safely
Decorating your office and home is a long-standing tradition around the holiday season. Unfortunately, these same decorations may increase your chances of fire, and emergency rooms see thousands of injuries involving holiday decorating every season.
- Keep potentially poisonous plants – mistletoe, holly berries, Jerusalem cherry and amaryllis – away from children
- If using an artificial tree, check that it is labeled “fire resistant”
- If using a live tree, cut off about 2 inches of the trunk to expose fresh wood for better water absorption, remember to water it and remove it from your home when it is dry
- Place your tree at least 3 feet away from fireplaces, radiators and other heat sources, making certain not to block doorways
- Avoid placing breakable ornaments or ones with small, detachable parts on lower tree branches where small children can reach them
- Only use indoor lights indoors and outdoor lights outdoors, and choose the right ladder for the task when hanging lights
- Replace light sets that have broken or cracked sockets, frayed or bare wires, or loose connections
- Follow the package directions on the number of light sets that can be plugged into one socket
- Never nail, tack or stress wiring when hanging lights and keep plugs off the ground away from puddles and snow
- Turn off all lights and decorations when you go to bed or leave the house
Watch Out for Fire-Starters
Candles and Fireplaces
Use of candles and fireplaces, combined with an increase in the amount of combustible, seasonal decorations in many homes during the holidays, means more risk for fire. The National Fire Protection Association reports that one-third of home decoration fires are started by candles and that two of every five decoration fires happen because the decorations are placed too close to a heat source.
- Place candles where they cannot be knocked down or blown over and out of reach of children
- Keep matches and lighters up high and out of reach for children in a locked cabinet
- Use flameless, rather than lighted, candles near flammable objects
- Don’t burn trees, wreaths or wrapping paper in the fireplace
- Use a screen on the fireplace at all times when a fire is burning
- Never leave candles or fireplaces burning unattended or when you are asleep
- Check and clean the chimney and fireplace area at least once a year
Food Poisoning Is No Joke
Keep your holidays happy by handling food safely. The foodsafety.gov website from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services provides some valuable holiday food safety tips:
- Wash your hands frequently when handling food
- Keep raw meat away from fresh produce
- Use separate cutting boards, plate and utensils for uncooked and cooked meats to avoid cross-contamination
- Use a food thermometer to make sure meat is cooked to a safe temperature
- Refrigerate hot or cold leftover food within two hours of being served
- When storing turkey, cut the leftovers in small pieces so they will chill quickly
- Leftovers are safe for three to four days when properly refrigerated
Check out this map to a food-safe holiday.
Safe Gifting
Gifts and toys should inspire joy, not cause injuries. More than a quarter of a million children were seriously injured in toy-related incidents in 2017. Avoid safety hazards while gifting with these tips from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission:
- Toys are age-rated for safety, not for children’s intellect and physical ability, so be sure to choose toys in the correct age range
- Choose toys for children under 3 that do not have small parts which could be choking hazards
- For children under 10, avoid toys that must be plugged into an electrical outlet
- Be cautious about toys that have button batteries or magnets, which can be harmful or fatal if swallowed
- When giving scooters and other riding toys, give the gift of appropriate safety gear, too; helmets should be worn at all times and they should be sized to fit
To find out about holiday toy safety and recalls, check the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission website.
