5 Ways to Keep your Home Safe during the Holidays

During December your number one priority should be to keep your home safe during the holidays.

This is often a huge stressor for homeowners and it prevents many people from going away during December.

It is difficult to enjoy the summer sun when you’re worried about who might break into your home.

These types of fears are totally understandable. It is a known fact that crime increases during the festive season because criminals know houses are empty.

This, however, does not mean that you should miss out on all the fun.

There are a few things you can do to keep your home safe during the holidays.

1) Keep your home safe during the holidays by creating the illusion that someone is home

This is the best way to fool criminals who try to enter your home.

Criminals usually target empty homes; not homes where lights are on and TVs are blaring.

This is exactly what you need to let happen when you aren’t around. An easy way to do this is to put a timer on your outdoor and indoor lights so that it goes off as soon as the sun starts setting.

You can also attach a timer to your TV so that it switches on for an hour or two during the day.

If you don’t have timers, you can ask a friend or family member to pop in, switch the TV on or open and close the curtains.

Anything that might help in mimicking the day-to-day activity of a ‘full’ house. 

2) Get a friend or family member to house sit

While you’re asking your friends or family members to visit your home, why not ask them to stay over for the duration of your holiday?

This takes all the stress off of you and you know someone responsible is taking care of your belongings and your pets.

When you ask someone to house-sit, try to make it as convenient for them as possible.

Give them all the keys or remotes they need to enter, make sure the fridge is stocked, and that the Wi-Fi is connected. Remember that they are doing you the favour!

3) Do a thorough security check to keep your home safe during the holidays

Before you leave (and before your house-sitter arrives) make sure that you do a thorough security check of your house.

Take the time to walk around the house and see whether there is any easy access to your property.

If there is a hole or a space big enough for someone to crawl through, be sure to fix it before you leave.

Check the burglar bars and the windows, and see if the doors lock properly.

If you have an alarm system, make sure that it is in working order along with the panic buttons.

You should also alert the security company that you will be gone for a few days.

If you have someone house-sitting, let them know that someone else will be in your house.

This way they can do checks around the neighbourhood and check in with the house-sitter every now and then. 

4) Don’t put the Christmas trees and Christmas presents up in plain sight

Criminals may target your home when they see the Christmas tree and accompanying presents standing through your window.

This tells them that there are valuable things inside the boxes and then they take their chance.

If you have already done your Christmas shopping, rather store it away until you come back.

Otherwise, you might just have to tell your loved ones that someone did their own Christmas shopping in your home while you were away!

5) Keep your home safe during the holidays by avoiding posting on social media

It is often our number one instinct to post the selfie we took at the beach and tag our location.

This is the worst thing that you can do.

If your social media accounts are public then anyone can see where you are – and it is clearly not at home!

Someone might just decide to pay your obviously empty home a little visit and have a stroll through it whilst you are #livingitup on holiday.

Rather post all your photos when you come back from holiday. 

See also: How to Protect Your House from Burglars

Final thoughts

You can keep your home safe during the holiday by making these small changes before and during your vacation. It is better to take extra precautions and have a stress-free holiday. 

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