Oh the Holiday Crazies are among us. Family everywhere, frantic shopping, constant traffic, perfectly wrapping, decorating the house, cooking food, cooking desserts, cooking cooking cooking, party planning and need I go on? What aren’t we doing this time of year, oh I know, we’re not getting sleep. As a mom, you know life can get extremely busy while preparing for the holidays. However, sometimes the focus on celebrating can turn fun festivities into injuries and accidents if safety is not a priority for families. Studies show that nearly 230 people will visit the emergency room each day in November and December to be treated for holiday-related injuries.
Underwriters Laboratories (UL), a leading independent safety organization, is calling all parents, specifically moms, to set aside time in their schedule to commit at least one minute to safety each day this holiday season. You know who UL is right, they have their label on almost every single cable you can find that goes into an electrical socket, but they do more than that, they are on appliances, always thinking about safety in everything we do.
We’re committing to Holiday Safety as a family and I invite you to as well.
My husband decorated the house last weekend, he let the kids help in ways that were age appropriate.
He checked all of the cords, extension cords, and made sure they were safe to use and the indoor cords were used indoors and the outdoor cords were all outdoors. He carefully checked voltage, and organized the cords where they are not tangled in any way. And we placed one of the cables at our front door under our welcome mat so no one will trip on the cord on their way into our house. (we have smart neighbors, Thanks Robin!)
Here are a few more tips from UL:
Focus on the Fireplace
Move stockings and holiday decorations off the mantle before starting a fire in your fireplace and always use the fireplace screen. Recycle wrapping paper instead of burning it in your fireplace. Burning wrapping paper could produce dangerous sparks or flares of intense heat.
Read moreStay Warm Safely
Look for the UL Mark on your space heater and read the instructions before using it. Move space heaters at least three feet away from anything that can burn (e.g., curtains, blankets) and never leave a space heater on when you leave the room or go to sleep. Be sure to teach children (and practice it yourself) to never place anything on top of a space heater to dry.
Read moreKeep Watch in the Kitchen
The kitchen is a busy place from Thanksgiving through the holiday season. Never leave anything cooking unattended, not even for a minute. Turn pot handles inward so that little hands can’t grab them. And keep your kitchen and your cooking area free of clutter to avoid unnecessary accidents.
Read moreUse Candles with Care
Walk around your home and move candles away from anything that can burn. Store matches and lighters away from children and be sure to blow out candles before you leave the room or go to sleep. Never leave a burning candle unattended.Easy Electrical Safety
Check electrical outlets and make sure they are not overloaded. Look for the UL Mark on all your electrical cords and holiday lights. When decorating, inspect cords for damage and fraying and always keep extension cords away from where children play. Never run an extension cord under a rug or tack it up to a wall with a nail or staple.
Read more
I have to say one other thing that happened today, make sure you watch your children when they are playing. I wasn’t paying attention to my son this morning and he pulled one of our stocking right off the mantle today and I’m lucky that the letter P, the stocking holder, didn’t hit him in the head and knock him off of the fire place. It would have left a nasty bruise. Kids and Christmas do go together but keep it safe!!
Enter to Win:
100.00 Visa Gift Card
To Enter:
Just leave a comment on this post telling me how you plan to commit to safety this Holiday Season!
The Gift Card provided for the giveaway is my compensation for this post and I wanted to share it with my readers. By posting this and all of you leaving comments, I will be entered into a contest to win a 250.00 Gift Card from UL. The blogger with the most comments wins! Thank you for your participation!
This giveaway ends December 31st.
using the heater instead of the fire place
Unplugging lights and appliances when not using them
We inspected all our lights and our cords this year and we made sure not to overload anything. Plus, we only had our lights and tree lit when we were home and awake.
I will look for the UL label on products
I want to remind Moms (Dads) and kids with long hair to be careful to not let their long hair get near the flame of candles. Hair burns very quickly. Keep your hair back in a ponytail and just be cognizant of your hair near lit candles (especially birthday candles.)
I plan to make safety a priority in my home this year. As a stay at home mom to three young kids, safetly is always in the front of my mind. I make sure to frain the bathtub RIGHT after anyone has a bath. We use toilet lid locks on our toilets, drawer and door latches on our cupboards, a stove top guard on my stove and pinch guards in out=r door frames. I also just recently bought a hearth cushion for our fireplace to prevent accidents from falls should any of the little ones fall on the bricks. My husband and I also both agreed to NOT hange our stockings on the mantle this year as we love to have fires in the fireplace and this poses a fire hazard… rather, we hung them on the entertainment center under the TV.
Happy holidays to all and most importantly, be safe!
We turn off the lights to the tree when we go to sleep and don’t leave it on all night. We alos only burn candles in rooms that we are in and blow them out when we leave.
Plus this season with our toddlers we were extra safe withe the cords making sure they were out of reach and unplugged if not in use.
I’ll make sure the UL label is on all my products
mcirish02 at hotmail dot com
we make sure that all candles, heaters, and electronics are off/out before going to bed every night.
I am committing a minute to safety for New Years Eve. I will not be going out tonight. Please if you all decide to go out and have a few drinks, have a responsible sober driver to take you home. It could save your life and others. Happy New Year
sweokgrl@gmail.com
I will make sure the UL label is on anything I use!
I’m staying home on New Year’s Eve – drinking but not driving.
I love this idea. Even if I don’t win the card, I love that there’s a discussion about it. Seen too many holiday injuries that with a little forethought could have been prevented. Thanks for this!
I’m committing a minute to safety by choosing to stay in on New Year’s Eve. It seems like a very dangerous night to be out and about…Thanks for the chance to win!
mrsmchappell at gmail dot com
I changed my smoke detector batteries
I check that all rug edges are securely taped down – it’s a tripping hazard for toddlers and seniors
I’m pretty careful all year round, not just at holidays. I unplug or turn off power strips for small appliances not in use(including computers and monitors)
We don’t burn candles since I really worry about them starting a fire.
Thanks for the giveaway!
My holidays are safe because I do not drink any alcohol and I do not over-load electrical outlets. I avoid the places were those two things exist. I have safe, peaceful holidays. I am following, liking, joining and subscribing. Jacob G. Simmons@Facebook
gainessimmons@aol.com
Ho Josefine,
You won the Commit a Minute to Holiday Safety Giveaway on Mom Start. Please send me your name phone number and address for shipping from the sponsor. Thanks and congrats on winning!
I will check, and replace if necessary, the batteries in all my smoke detectors.
Thank you.
I turn off all lights when we’re leaving and try to unplug electrical appliances when not in use.
I will commit to safety by reminding others to not use the oven as a heat source, and to unplug all lights when not in use.
Check for frayed electrical cords and dispose of immediately.
EXCELLENT reminder about the stocking holders. Ours are gorgeous, but made of heavy iron, and since we have a three-year old, I haven’t used them since he was first born. It’s just too chancy.
To keep safe over the holiday season we made sure the tree was watered as often as it needed, and that we shut off the tree lights when we weren’t in the same room with it.