Christmas is an enjoyable time of the year for many families, it gives them a chance to come together for the first time in 12 months, and leave worries, stress and work at the doorstep. It’s a chance to drink, eat, be merry and let your hair down.
However, for thieves it’s the opportune moment to ruin your Christmas, because as you start to unwind and let your hair down, thieves will use this to their advantage and plan their methodical attack upon your family home.
We aren’t here to scare you though, we are here to help and that is exactly what we intend to do. Therefore, without further scaremongering here are some excellent tips that we have put together in order for you to make it more difficult for burglars to spoil your Christmas festivities.
Keep Your Presents Hidden Away
We know that having gifts under the tree does add to the Christmas feel but believe us it also adds to the reasons a thief would want to break into your house. Rather than leaving them in clear sight under the tree keep them hidden away until Christmas Eve night, either use cupboard, wardrobe or other storage places, or if you don’t have the room keep them in bags in the attic.
Lock Your Doors and Windows
It’s not just a tip that makes sense at Christmas; you should be doing this all year-round. Before you leave the house make sure that you have shut and locked all windows and doors in the house. This is even more fundamental during Christmas because thieves will look at where those outside Christmas light wires are entering the house and the chances are they are going through a particularly opened window.
Do your best to lock the window securely, we know it’s tough with wires going through but all it takes is one savvy thief to clock onto your daily routine and BOOM, they are in your house quicker than Santa and your Christmas will be ruined.
Get Rid of Boxes or Wrappers
Another thing people forget to do is to remove any packaging waste from presents that they have wrapped up. One look in your garbage bin and a thief will be able to see all those expensive and lovely presents that you have purchased for your kids and partner. They will then instantly know what’s in the house and if it’s valuable you will only increase their curiosity to break in.
Take any packaging and just put it inside a black bag so that nobody can see inside, and try and flatten boxes down as much as you can and put other garbage over the top to disguise them.
Shred Your Receipts or Keep Them Safe
Sometimes you may want to throw receipts into the bin but before you do just take a step back and think about the information that is on there. Is Mr. Burglar should go through your rubbish at 3am in the morning and find a full receipt for a $999 TV set he’s going to hang onto that and your house will become a target over the next few weeks.
If you want to hang onto receipts for returns or warranty issues then just make sure you put them all in a safe area, preferably under lock and key. Just think of your receipts as money, you don’t want anyone else getting the chance to use them.
Cancel Regular Deliveries if You Are Away
Many people set off on their travels around the Christmas period to catch up with relatives in different parts of the country. If this sounds like you then there are a couple of extra security tips that will go a long way in helping to keep your house secure. Firstly, cancel any regular deliveries you have such as newspapers, milk and other services. This will stop your mailbox being crammed with letters and your front porch being littered with milk. An instant sign that you aren’t home is your mailbox overflowing so just make sure you make this a priority before you set off anywhere.
The second thing to do for your own safety is to switch off your Christmas lights, or better still put them onto a plug-timer so that they turn on and off at pre-set times that you select on the digital plug device.
That way, your home will look like it is being occupied as normal, you save electricity, and you will come back to a home that hasn’t been broken into by suspected burglars and thieves.
Just remembering a few of the tips we have offered you here today should help you go a long way in protecting your home, family and personal possessions that are inside it. Mighty mule 350 will help you to be safe in your home
Other than that, have a wonderful Christmas.