Simple Seasonal Safety Tips

Limit your home fire risk during the holidays

(Family Features) It may be the most wonderful time of year, but it can also be one of the most dangerous. Along with the cooking and decorations that make the season magical, the holidays present risks for home fires and burns.

An independent survey conducted by Shriners Hospitals for Children® found that many Americans do not follow key fire and burn safety tips despite being aware of dangerous risks. For example, 25 percent of respondents reported leaving lit candles unattended, and 27 percent said they have left them in reach of children.

“Some of these findings seem alarming, but each year our burn hospitals see the unfortunate results – children who have been injured in cooking related accidents or in fires associated with holiday decorations or candles,” said Kenneth Guidera, M.D., chief medical officer for Shriners Hospitals for Children. “These injuries can mean years of ongoing treatments and extensive rehabilitation for a child. That’s why we encourage families to learn about fire safety and prevention before a tragedy occurs.”

Fire and burn hazards are prevalent in many homes throughout the holidays, and Shriners Hospitals for Children offers these tips to remind families how to stay safe:

• Never leave lit candles unattended. If you must use flame-burning candles, make sure to extinguish them when you leave the room.
• When cooking, turn pot handles toward the back of the stove, out of the reach of children.
• Never leave a hot stove or oven unattended.
• While cooking, keep a lid or cookie sheet nearby to cover a pan if its contents catch fire.
• If you decorate using a live, fresh-cut Christmas tree, water it daily.
• Keep trees and other flammable decor at least 3 feet away from heaters and flames.
• Discard decorative lights with bare wires, frays or kinks.
• Make sure your home is equipped with working smoke alarms and fire extinguishers.
• Have an escape plan in case of a fire and practice it with your family members so they know how to react if a fire does occur.
• Know the burn care resources in your community.

The Shriners Hospitals locations that specialize in burn care provide critical, surgical and rehabilitative care to children with varying degrees of new and healed burns. Their state-of-the-art burn facilities are staffed and equipped to provide reconstructive and restorative surgery for healed burns, as well as treatments for various other skin conditions. With 22 locations in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, the health care system provides advanced care for children regardless of the families’ ability to pay. Learn more at shrinershospitalsforchildren.org.

Visit beburnaware.org to learn key fire safety practices to help avoid injuries this holiday season. You can find activity books, tip cards and a five-minute online quiz to help identify and eliminate potential risks.

Candle Safety for the Holidays
Candles are one of the most common sources of holiday fires. Never leave lit candles unattended and take these additional precautions to have a safe and fun holiday season:

• When candles are lit, make sure they are in stable holders and placed where they cannot be easily knocked over.

• Keep candles, matches and lighters out of reach of children.

• Be conscious of nearby surroundings. Never place a candle near drapery, decorations or other flammable items that may easily catch fire. Also avoid drafty areas or fans, which can accelerate flames or accidentally blow a flammable item onto a candle.

• Know that the safest way to extinguish a candle is with a snuffer.

• Consider using wickless or flameless candles. There are numerous options that cast a warm glow so you can enjoy the ambiance of a candle without the risk.

Kids and Candles Don’t Mix
Julianna and her mother, Tracy, know firsthand how dangerous the holiday season can be. While at a family Christmas party, Julianna, just 20 months old, snuck away from the activities and was in the bathroom playing in front of the mirror. A lit tea light candle on the corner of the sink ignited her clothes.

Tracy heard Julianna’s screams from down the hall, ran to the bathroom and saw her daughter’s dress on fire. She patted out the flames and family members called an ambulance. Julianna spent three weeks at Shriners Hospitals for Children — Cincinnati to treat the third-degree burns that covered the left side of her body. Julianna, now 8-years-old, is doing well but faces ongoing treatment as she grows.

“We are very lucky,” Tracy said. “Julianna will be fine thanks to the care she received. We all get busy during this time of year, but it is so important for parents to make sure they are following basic safety tips to keep their kids safe.”

Photo courtesy of Getty Images (Fireplace with gifts)

SOURCE:
Shriners Hospitals for Children

4 Ways to Survive Holiday Gifting

(Family Features) While the holidays might be the most wonderful time of the year for children, the gifting season can quickly spiral out of control for unprepared shoppers.

These four tips can help you conquer holiday gifting like a pro:

Get organized. The secret to conquering the holiday season is having a plan. Take 10-15 minutes to update your calendar with all your holiday parties, family engagements, secret Santa exchanges or any other gifting commitments. Make sure to include dates, locations, times and even specifics, like themes, if they’re available. If you have multiple holiday events, you might even color-coordinate your planner for an easy visual reminder. Sync your events across all smart devices for an easy glance at the touch of a button.

Find your go-to gifts. As an adult, deciphering what kind of gifts a child wants in this digital age can be tricky. Some classics like brick toys are still a hit with kids of all ages. Studies show that 60 percent of children love playing with brick toys and more than half of parents love that their kids do, according to Mattel Global Consumer Insights. Try product lines like Mega Construx and Mega Bloks, which combine the fun of brick toys with popular franchises to create exciting products for kids. Find more holiday gift ideas at shop.mattel.com.

Wrap gifts early. Now that you have your plan in place, save time by purchasing all the gifts you will need for the holidays and wrapping them at one time. Prevent the stress of a last-minute gift wrap run by pre-wrapping gifts and simply labeling them with removable sticky notes.   

Build a gifting closet. Once you have your gifts wrapped and ready to go, consider using an old crate or storage container and turning it into a “gifting closet.” Insert dividers to separate the gifts by age range and set aside your treasure trove in an easy-to-reach storage area. You can even use this closet year-round for birthdays and other gifting events. On the day of the party, simply open your gifting closet, grab a gift for the right age and head out the door.

Another option to save time and money this holiday season is to enter for the chance to win a gifting closet with $1,500 worth of MEGA products to help you conquer the gifting season. To enter the sweepstakes, post an original holiday photo to Instagram or Twitter with a short caption that includes why the entrant likes to give or receive construction toys as gifts. For full details, visit rules.prizelogic.com/MegaSocialSweeps.

Photo courtesy of Getty Images.

SOURCE:
MEGA

Thoughtful Gifts

The secret to easy gift-giving

(Family Features) When gift-giving has you stumped, turn to what you know: the characteristics and interests that make your recipient unique. A thoughtful gift that shows you recognize and care about the qualities that make your loved one or friend special is a sure winner every time.

For the Adventurer
Trying to match the thrills an adventurer finds in his/her outrageous pursuits can be a challenge, but a certificate toward a thrilling experience may just fit the bill. Whizzing through a zip line course or taking the plunge with a sky diving simulator are two ways to feed the need for adrenaline. With more and more cities adding these pseudo-extreme adventures to their local attraction lists, you can easily find an adrenaline-inducing activity that will excite your loved one. Tuck a gift certificate for the experience into a brochure, and if you find yourself intrigued, make the certificate amount good for an adventure for two.

For the Creative One
For many, adult coloring has become a fun individual or group activity and a creative way to de-stress during the hectic holiday season. As most artists know, the tools you use to create a masterpiece make all the difference, so why not arm your loved ones with the quality tools they need to bring their artwork to life? Help them take their coloring to the next level with the Prismacolor Adult Coloring Kit. Featuring a variety of coloring tools, including professional artist-quality soft core colored pencils, an illustration marker, a premier kneaded eraser, sharpener and a whimsical coloring booklet, this kit has everything adult colorists need. The colored pencils deliver a smooth application, superior blendability, subtle gradation and rich color saturation that will make their coloring pop.

For the Techie
Whether they’re waiting in line at 5 a.m. for the latest gadget release or scoping out the newest trends in tech, finding presents to gift your tech-obsessed friends and family is no easy feat. To determine the type of gift that suits them best, think about other activities they enjoy. For avid runners and fitness buffs, consider a personalized fitness activity tracker or smart watch. On the hunt for a gift for the music lover in your life? Maybe a portable speaker or pair of new headphones would catch their eye. If all else fails, a gift certificate to their favorite store is always a good option.

When it comes to giving meaningful gifts, focus on personal traits and you’ll quickly transform an empty list into one filled with possibilities for making this holiday season joyful and bright.

Family passing out gifts image courtesy of Getty Images.

SOURCE:
Prismacolor