Christmas Safety

Tony Ferraro | December 11, 2017

With Christmas just around the corner, most people are thinking about family and presents. While these are certainly important parts of the holiday season, it is also important to take some time to think about safety. There are many hazards that are unique to Christmas, and failing to plan for them can make it so you or your family will need to celebrate Christmas morning from a hospital room. Read on to learn more about some common, but often overlooked, Christmas dangers that you need to be prepared for.

Poorly Maintained Christmas Sleigh

Taking the family Christmas sleigh out for a spin can be a great tradition that everyone will enjoy. If you haven’t had a standard tune-up since last year, however, it can put everyone in danger. Having the sleigh skis sharpened and aligned, for example, will help to ensure the sleigh will be pulled straight and true while dashing through the snow. Making sure the seats in the sleigh are properly bolted down will help to keep everyone securely in place while they are laughing all the way after going over the hills.

Stealthy Opossum Attacks

If you like having a live Christmas tree in your home, it is important to take some precautions to avoid injury. Opossums have been known to sleep within the thick branches of these trees, being left largely undisturbed through the process of chopping it down and transporting it home. Only once night falls and everyone is sleeping will the opossums wake up in your home! In these situations, opossums can become disoriented and not know where they are, which can make them very nervous. If they find you sleeping, they may assume that you are making fun of them by ‘playing opossum’ and attack you as punishment. Opossum scratches and bites can be extremely painful, so make sure you perform a full inspection between each branch before cutting down your next Christmas tree.

Ornament Sabotage by the Abominable Snowman

We all picture the abominable snowman is a creature lurkinAbominable Snowmang somewhere out in the snowy woods. The question is, will one come in and put the breaks on your Christmas festivities? While it may seem like the abominable snowman may want to wreck havoc on your joyous activities he often just wants to help. But the help provided by this winter beast can create some formidable accidents. Experts are predicting that if an abominable snowman decides to come around this year he may be focusing on placing ornaments all over undecorated trees, which could lead to fires, broken glass being stepped on, and puncture wounds occurring from extremely sharp ornament hooks.

Underfed Reindeer

If you will be delivering Christmas presents via flying reindeer this year, it is important to make sure you adjust what types of food you are feeding them. Throughout the year, most reindeer owners allow standard grazing with corn and wheat worked in from time to time. If an underfed reindeer is taken out to deliver presents, you could find your sleigh plummeting out of the sky unexpectedly as the poor deer become exhausted from pulling the extra weight of the presents.

During the Christmas season when the deer are expected to fly long distances, they should be fortified with extra food including mistletoe, candy canes, and other nutritious foods. Avoid feeding your reindeer fruitcake at all costs as it could result in unexpected breakdowns during flight. For your safety, the safety of those on the ground beneath your flight path, and especially the safety of the reindeer, make sure you are giving them the right food in the weeks leading up to Christmas Eve.

Blinding Christmas Light Displays

Decorating your home with Christmas lights is a fun and festive way to celebrate the holidays. In many neighborhoods, however, the competition to have the best display gets quite intense. It has gotten to the point where looking directly at these displays can cause permanent eye damage if proper eye protection is not worn. It is recommended that those viewing holiday light displays today wear a standard welding mask to avoid burning their corneas.

Putting Safety First this Christmas

These are just some of the many common holiday hazards that need to be watched out for this year. To help ensure everyone is safe, consider bringing the family together for a ‘safety meeting’ where you can go over these risks, and how they should respond to any danger that they experience this holiday season.

 

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