Christmas Safety Tips to Prevent Slip & Falls

A big part of the holiday season involves spending time with our loved ones. If part of your holiday plans involves inviting friends or family over a celebration, there are lots of things that need to be planned for and taken care of before your guests start to arrive. You need to get all the food you need, find gifts for everyone on your list, and make sure your house is ready for your visitors. But as you work on cleaning up, don’t forget to also make sure your home is free of things that could cause someone to slip or trip and fall.

To protect your guests from slip and fall accidents, the exterior of your home is a great place to start. If people will be visiting on a day when snow and ice are on the ground, make sure your driveway, sidewalk, and walkways leading to your doors have been cleared and de-iced. While you’re outside, don’t forget to make sure your exterior lights are working so that people will still be able to see if they’ll be walking to or from your house after dark. When it’s dark out, it’s very common for people to fall because they simply didn’t see a patch of ice on the ground.

If it’s likely that people will be entering your home while wearing wet or snowy shoes, make sure they have a place to clean their shoes off or to take them off so that moisture doesn’t get tracked around the house. Not only will this help keep your floors clean, it will prevent slippery spots from forming on tile flooring. Speaking of slippery floors, if something spills in the kitchen or a guest spills a drink, make sure those spills get cleaned up right away.

As you work to clean up your house, make sure your hallways and stairways are free of clutter that people could trip over. If you have rugs on your floors, check to be sure that they’re secure to the ground so that they won’t slip when people walk on them or trip over an edge or corner that’s started to curl up.

Will people be bringing gifts to your holiday get together? Keep an eye out as people arrive to see if they’re carrying large packages. If someone looks like they might need a hand with something big, help them out so that they can come inside safely. Large boxes can make it hard for people to see where they’re walking, making it easy for people to trip and fall.

Do you have any holiday lights decorating your home? Whether they’re inside the house or out, check to make sure there aren’t any extension cords running through areas where people could easily trip over them.

With a little careful planning, your holiday party can be safe and fun for everyone. The Law Offices of Goodwin & Scieszka wish you a very safe and happy holiday season!