Is Your Home Safe for Holiday Guests?

‘Tis the season for opening your home to guests. When you’re hosting holiday parties, it’s the more, the merrier — and the merrier, the more unwelcome liability risks.

Fickle winter weather and hazardous holiday decorations can create a perfect storm of hidden traps as guests arrive at your home. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), an estimated 14,000 people were treated in emergency rooms nationwide during November and December of 2015 due to injuries incurred from holiday decorations.

Falls, lacerations, and ingestion of foreign objects are among the top holiday-decorating-related injuries. But your home can bear the brunt of the damage, too.

Keep your home and your guests safe – and your liability in check — with these tips. 

Who’s Coming Over?

Different guests have different needs. Comb your home for dangers to make it a welcoming environment for all ages (and number of legs). 

Children: Place anything breakable, sharp, or with removable parts out of reach from little arms. Hang ornaments a few feet from the base of the tree, and avoid decorations that resemble candy or food. Go for flameless candles, or at least move real candles out of reach and on a heat-resistant surface, away from any flammable objects.

The Elderly: Making an entrance is always exciting — unless you fall flat on an icy sidewalk. Give your guests a safe welcome by sprinkling pathways with salt or an ice-melt product and sweeping them clean to reduce tripping hazards. If your home has any dangerous areas (damaged deck, faulty stairs), make sure to repair them or section them off.

Pets: Consider keeping pets away from the party to remove a tripping hazard and guard against bites or scratches. For four-legged guests, it’s a good idea to have a separate room or space in an outdoor area (like a garage or doghouse).

What’s Potentially Dangerous?

Follow this room-by-room guide to upping your safety game when visitors come. 

Bathrooms: If guests are injured in a room they are likely to be alone, they may not be able to call for help.

• Put mats down. The CDC recommends that you place nonslip mats in and near showers and tubs.
• Store medicines out of reach. Don’t forget to remove pill bottles and other drugs from medicine cabinets so they are out of children’s reach.
• Latch lower cabinets. Curious toddlers may get into cleaning supplies. (This goes for the kitchen, too!)

Stairs: Shaky banisters and cluttered stairs can lead to falls. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends:

• Installing or repairing railings.
• Installing fresh light bulbs in stairwells.
• Clearing clutter that could trip you or your guests.
• Installing safety gates at the top and bottom of stairs if young children come to visit.

Den: You may love your flat-screen mounted on the wall, but curious kids may climb on furniture and tug on TVs, causing them to topple.

Kandis Wilborn, a health education specialist at the Center for Childhood Injury Prevention at Texas Children’s Hospital, says a 26-inch CRT TV falling 3 feet creates the same momentum as a 1-year-old child falling 10 stories.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recommends:

• Anchoring furniture to the wall or the floor.
• Placing TVs on sturdy, low bases.
• Pushing the TV as far back on the furniture as possible.

Around the House: 

• Use nonslip rugs. Tripping and slipping can lead to broken hips and head injuries. Use rugs with nonslip backing, or add rug pads and adhesives.
• Store electrical cords. Keep electrical cords neatly out of the way to prevent tripping.

Holiday Decorations: Don’t be like the Griswolds.

Learn how to deck the halls safely here and make sure your home is covered for the holiday season. Schedule a 360 Review with your Texas Farm Bureau Insurance Agent today.

Coverage and discounts are subject to qualifications and policy terms and may vary by situation.