The holiday season is just around the corner, and we wanted to share a few safety tips that will help you enjoy the season with friends and family and avoid many common household mishaps.

1. Cook your turkey in the oven.

Many people enjoy cooking their turkey outside, deep frying it in large pot over an open flame, usually powered by a propane burner. While we can’t argue that this produces a juicy, crispy bird, it also is a huge hazard and can easily cause a destructive fire and severe burns to anyone nearby. Several things can go wrong when deep frying a turkey. Frozen turkeys are so large that they usually require several days in the refrigerator to thaw completely. If a turkey that is not completely thawed goes into the hot oil, it can lead to a rapid buildup of steam inside the bird. When it releases, it can splash oil out of the pot and onto the cook or other bystanders, or into the open flame. Another potential problem can occur when lowering the turkey into the oil. It is easy to underestimate how much oil the turkey will displace. If the pot is too full, the hot oil can easily overflow the edge of the pot when placing the turkey in. This is extremely dangerous to the person lowering the turkey in, since they are so close to the pot. However, this is very likely to cause a fire as well, when the hot cooking oil comes into direct contact with the propane burner. An oil fire is very hard to put out and can do serious damage and cause injuries quickly. Other potential causes of damage and injury could be pets that get too close to the pot and knock it over, or even curious children who are not closely supervised. We recommend roasting your turkey in the oven to avoid all of these possible dangers.

2. Keep your Christmas tree from catching fire.

Christmas trees are a crucial part of holiday decorations, but they can also be a source of a destructive housefire. A Christmas tree that is not regularly watered, if ignited, can cause the entire room to be fully engulfed in flame in under a minute. This happens because of a phenomenon known as “flashover”, where the hot smoke and gases from the fire heat the surfaces in a room until they spontaneously ignite all at once, creating a very hot, very dangerous fire in the home. Sources of ignition could be faulty strand lights or extension cords, candles near a tree, or outlets themselves. Make sure to inspect all your lights and extension cords before use, to make sure there are no bare wires or broken bulbs. These are common sources of a spark that can ignite a tree. Also be sure not to use multiple splitters to plug too many cords into one outlet. These can overheat and lead to fire as well. Keeping the tree watered every day will also greatly reduce the risk of a fire, however even a well-watered tree can still catch fire, though they typically burner slower, giving you and your family more time to get out. Finally, make sure to leave the tree lights unplugged when you’re not home, or overnight, and make sure all of your smoke detectors are working.

3. Leave Fireworks to the Pros.

New Years Eve often features fireworks displays to celebrate the new year. As much fun as fireworks at home might seem, we recommend enjoying them from a safe distance at a professional show. Not only are professional fireworks more impressive, they are far safer. Every year, people are injured by fireworks at home. Burns, concussions, broken bones, eye injuries (including the loss of an eye) and even lost fingers are examples of injuries from fireworks. Over half of the people injured by fireworks every year are under the age of 20. Fireworks are an obvious attraction for kids and teens, but there are many things that can go wrong, unpredictably, when using them. Even something as innocuous as a sparkler can cause burns or set fires. The sparks coming off the burning tip of a sparkler can melt certain metals. The best way to avoid these injuries is just to skip the fireworks stand and watch a show put on by the professionals.

We hope you have a fun, safe holiday season and enjoy time with the people that matter most—your friends and family.

For the things you can’t always avoid, we are here with insurance solutions to protect your family.