The holiday season is upon us! Every year, families gather together to make each other smile and to ring in the new year. No matter what you celebrate, the best holiday you can experience is a safe one for you and your loved ones. Since bad people don’t take a break during the holiday season, here are some holiday safety tips.

Keep Your Presents Out of Sight
The scene is all too familiar to holiday shoppers. You’re in a mall parking lot, and everything is absolute chaos! You have places to be, meals to prepare and all you want to do is get all of your shopping done. Your mind is a little fried so you’re not thinking straight, and you leave your child’s new video game console, the one they have behaved well all year to get, clearly visible in the front seat of the car while you run in to get a few things. By the time you come back, the system is taken quicker than Bowser can kidnap Peach.

How to Stay Safe
The fact is that the holidays are a prime time for gift theft, and the car is one of the most vulnerable spots. In order to keep your holiday presents safe, the first key is to get them out of sight. If you have a car, keep all presents in the trunk as soon as you purchase them. Out of sight is out of mind, and keeping your presents out of sight will keep them safer. If you have an SUV or other vehicle where they can’t be as fully concealed, use a blanket to cover them up when possible. If you want to avoid your presents being taken, you can always drive them back home and unload and wrap them right away whenever that is practical.

Keep Your Children Warm and Cats Inside
Kids love to play during the holidays, a time where they are off school and free to make snow men and snow women and dive into the snow to make snow angels. Keeping kids safe in the snow means keeping them warm.

How to Stay Safe
Ensure your kids have full snowsuits when they are out in the snow. This includes pants and jackets which are water resistant, and boots that are insulated. Your child should also have a warm hat in which to play and a cup of hot cocoa to warm them when they come indoors. Keeping safe and warm also applies to fur babies! If you have an outdoor cat, make sure they have the ability to come inside when the weather gets really bad. You must also be careful when leaving your home. Cats sometimes seek shelter in the wheel well of cars, so make sure you check your vehicle before you pull out of the driveway.

Keep Your Alarm System Armed Home or Away
Your home is more likely to be targeted during the holidays than most other times of the year. That is because thieves are opportunistic, and want to take advantage of empty homes. Odds are you are reading this blog because you already have a home alarm system set up. If you have a home security system, the most important thing to remember is to use it!

How to Stay Safe
If you go away at any point during the holidays, no matter for how long or how far away, arm your alarm system! When your alarm system is armed, you have a direct connection to help, which will get the authorities to your home and scare away the bad guys. If you are at home, arm your system in stay mode! Most break ins happen when nobody is home, but sometimes a bad guy will think nobody is home, or be bold enough to break in anyways. If you have a home security system, keep it armed at all times, and keep a key fob handy if you have one and need to send a panic signal. Additional security features can also help keep you safe whether you are home or away, including door locks which can be checked and locked from anywhere in the world and doorbell cameras which will help protect the front of your home and make the bad guys think you are still around.

If you need help protecting your home this holiday season, call Alarm Guard! 1 855 979 9224.