Following a few safety tips can help keep the holidays festive for everyone.
Holiday Safety Tips
- St. Patrick's Day
Leprechauns and shamrocks and green beer, oh my! St. Patrick’s Day in America is dedicated to everything that is Irish and green. Remember to celebrate responsibly and keep the injuries to a pinch for not wearing green.
- Before attending any festivities, choose a designated driver who is responsible for driving the group home.
- Call law enforcement immediately after seeing someone drive away while being intoxicated.
- To help prevent the potential of someone driving while intoxicated, designate someone to collect car keys and watch them throughout the festivities.
- Memorial Day
Safely honor the armed forces members who gave their lives keeping America safe. Review these tips before the holiday gatherings begin.
- Use extreme caution when lighting fireworks in the wind. Keep spectators where the wind is blowing away from them.
- Do not operate a grill or campfire while intoxicated. Alcohol can impair movements and mental faculties, which makes performing potentially dangerous activities even more dangerous.
- Pace alcoholic drinks throughout the event, and consume a glass of water between every drink. Heat and alcohol dehydrates the body, making it more prone to heat illnesses and alcohol poisoning.
- Halloween
Halloween is a night filled with witches and ghosts, but they are not the only frightening part of the holiday. Review some safety tips before celebrating the spooky night and leave the scaring to the monsters.
- Masks can dangerously restrict vision. Try using non-toxic makeup to make sure children can see everything happening around them.
- Remind children to stay on sidewalks and look both ways before crossing a street. Drivers may not see the children if they dart out on the road.
- Tell children to never enter a stranger’s home or vehicle.
- Thanksgiving
When people think about Thanksgiving the first thing that typically comes to mind is turkey. Not deep fryer explosion. Keep safety in mind when celebrating this year.
- Remove items away from the stovetop that could catch fire such as oven mitts, utensils, towels and food packages.
- Keep an all-purpose fire extinguisher nearby and never use water to douse a grease fire.
- Meat must be completely thawed before being placed in a deep fryer.
- Winter Holidays
A majority of residential fires occur due to placing holiday decorations to close to heat sources. Decorations are a festive way to celebrate winter holidays, but it’s important to remember safety when the decorating begins.
- Consider using an electronic kinara, advent wreath, menorah or other religious candleholder to lower the chances of a fire.
- Christmas trees should have a sturdy stand to prevent them from falling over.
- Keep poisonous plants such as poinsettias out of reach of pets and children, who may try to eat them.
- New Year's Eve
Waiting until the stroke of midnight to practice caution is unwise. Safely ring in the new year by following these safety tips.
- If attending the Times Square Ball Drop — or a similar event — leave valuables at home, notify loved ones, wear warm clothing and carry a charged cell phone at all times.
- Before leaving home, check weather notifications and local news stations for winter weather updates.
- Attend celebrations with a group of trusted friends and loved ones. Check on one another to promote safety.
