Tis truly the season as we are less than two weeks away from the 25th of December; but don’t let one of those holiday surprises during these 12 days of Christmas be a dangerous accident that stops the holiday fun. The holiday season is one of the highest periods in the year for an injury or accident in the household.
The last thing your family needs this holiday season is an accident
While it may seem like there is never enough time to get everything done in time for Christmas, forcing yourself to slow down might be the best thing for you. “If everyone would just take an extra moment when doing a task, there would be far less injuries,” suggests Brian Kuglich on preventing holiday accident and injury, who creates educational tools on home safety for the nonprofit consumer awareness group The National Safety Council.
“Each year over 400 Americans lose their lives and over 1,000 are injured from holiday-related fires,” he continues. “These fires are not only dangerous but expensive, costing around $900 million in damage.”
One notorious source for a fire-related accident is open candle flames. Keep candles in safe holders, always extinguish them when leaving the room, and do not keep them near anything flammable. This includes Christmas trees which are responsible for over 200 fires each year. Make sure your tree is healthy, fresh, and green—otherwise you could wind up in an accident similar to Uncle Louis in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.
Also be certain that you are using the proper decoration equipment. No interior lights or extension chords outside, because these are not waterproof and are prone to cause an accident like fire or electric shock.
And no holiday season image would be complete without a cheery day spent sledding down the white hills. Do not be reckless, however, from facial cuts to skull fractures: winter sports can cause a serious accident and are a major cause of injury—over 35,000 are reported every winter. Educate yourself on your surroundings: heavily treed areas or slopes scattered with ditches may not be the best place to carelessly glide down the snow.
So take a few minutes in preparation every day to avoid any serious accident or mistake. Most holiday mishaps are caused by negligence, and a little more situational awareness and common sense can go a long way.
“If you do light that candle,” says Kuglich. “Don’t unwrap all your presents right next to the flame.”
So prevent the accident that could crisp the gifts under your tree, because no good child wants to see their well-earned gifts ending up the same as a lump of coal.
