I love the holiday season because it’s a delightful time for my family and I to rejoice in the blessings of the present year and look forward to the year ahead. There is nothing more heartwarming than spending time with family and friends to let them know just how much you truly appreciate them.
My favorite part of the season is decorating for Christmas. Every year, I carefully adorn my house with festive decorations throughout. It’s an exciting and fun pastime that my entire family enjoys, and it really puts us in the Christmas spirit.
When decorating for the holidays, there are many safety issues to consider when you have children running about the house. The last thing any mama wants is for someone to end up getting seriously hurt, or the chance of there being a fire hazard in the home. With that in mind, here are a few safety tips to consider before doing your own holiday decorations.
I love, love–and did I mention love–candles. They’re a cheerful and fragrant addition to the holidays, but left unattended can become a serious hazard if they’re knocked over or little hands mess with them, so this year I am looking into flameless candles. Not only do they smell just as pretty, but I don’t have to worry about burns, fires or wax on my carpets or furniture. Flameless candles are safe to the touch and give off a peaceful glow. If you still have you heart set on real candles, please never leave them unattended, always put the flame out when you’re finished, keep them out of children’s reach and never burn them near anything flammable.
When putting up lights, make sure to always, even if they’re new, inspect the strands for frays, tears or broken bulbs. If there are no worn areas on the strands or broken bulbs, then plug bulbs in to make sure that all lights are in working order. If during your inspection you find anything wrong with your lights, then just replace them and toss out defective strands. Never use nails or tacks when stringing lights throughout your home. Make sure to use hooks or insulated staples, and be sure not to pierce the wires when hanging lights.
If you’re looking for an artificial tree, make sure you find one that is fire or flame resistant to prevent fires. If you’ve decided that you would rather have a live tree, then look for one that’s fresh. When a tree is fresh, the needles are difficult to pull from the branches and should bend between your fingers without breaking. Also, they shouldn’t be losing a lot of needles when you touch or move the tree. Those that lose needles are not as fresh and could be a potential fire hazard. Make sure that the tree stand holds water without leaking and is filled regularly to prevent the tree from drying out in a heated room.
When decking out your Christmas tree, opt for shatterproof ornaments to prevent breakage and glass shards. I’ve found that no matter how much you sweep, many times glass can still find itself in interesting little hiding places. Also, tiny ornaments can be choking hazards for young children. Try to make sure that your ornaments are too large to be ingested and don’t resemble food. Make sure to trim your tree in noncombustible or flame-resistant decorations, so you don’t create one big fire hazard.
These are some ideas that should help to keep your holidays safe and merry. For more great Christmas safety tips like these, check out American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).
Photo: flickr.com/photos/fbaett/3077544072
SAHM’s Rant: In Reply to a Comment
Back in April, I wrote a post called A Stay-at-Home Mom’s Rant. It was a popular post amongst other SAHMs, because it addressed the unfortunate mindset that some folks have about women who choose being a homemaker as a career. I’ve personally had multiple conversations with men and women who believe that those of us who become stay-at-home moms are mindless Stepford wife throwbacks that belong back in a 50s kitchen, no doubt barefoot and perpetually pregnant.
The point of my post was that SAHMs are every bit the modern women as those who work outside the home. We just chose a different career path which makes us happy. What gives anyone the right to question the importance of one person’s job over another’s? Are women who choose to be doctors superior to those who work in school cafeterias serving meals to our children? Are women who become lawyers more modern than those who bust their backs on construction crews?
The bottom line was simple; the women who stuck their necks out and paved the way for women to be recognized as equals were doing so because they wanted us to all have the rights to choose what we did with our lives.
I chose to stay home with my kids. Period.
What brings me back to this particular post was a comment I received months later from a “working mom” named Jess. Jess’s comment reeked of frustration…and well…seemed to miss the point of my post. I’m not thinking she really read the whole thing.
I was lying awake the other night and this comment popped into my head. I’ve been thinking about it ever since, and I’d like to take the opportunity to address it piece by piece.
So…here goes…and for the record, I cleaned up some of her language, because this is a family show.
I’m familiar with this concept. I did it, too, because we didn’t have any choice either. I’m totally picking up what you’re laying down.
Okay…slow down, sister. First, I want to point out that there is a difference between doing housework, homework and other tasks and responsibilities that come with being a mom and being a SAHM. Being a stay-at-home mom means that our career choice is to stay at home rather than work outside of the home. It’s a title, not a job description.
Second, I never said I wasn’t living the dream…my dream. In fact, I said, ‘By the time my third was on his way…I was chomping at the bit to get out of middle management and live the dream. It truly was my dream, by the way, and it still is.’ So why the tone, mama?
Third, I’m going to have to disagree with you on the cakewalk thing. That’s just ludicrous. I think you’re idea of what it’s like to be a stay-at-home mom and the reality of the job are different animals.
Fourth, if there was ever a boring day in my house, nobody let me in on it. I have three sons. Three. Young. Sons. Boring is NOT a word in my vocabulary. Moving on…
I absolutely agree about the 24/7 part. As for the work, I’m assuming you’re referring to working outside the home. Implying that SAHM moms don’t work would just be silly. Please…continue…
Hey, hey, simmer down, slugger. We’ll pause here. I’ve been in your shoes. I’ve worked outside the home, missed my sons all day and then came home to do housework and get them ready for bed so we could do it all again the next day. I’ve never said that was easy, nor would I ever. Not only have I lived it, but that’s the life my mother, who I respect above all else, lived.
That being said, I do miss working outside the house from time to time. Why? I interacted with other adults on a regular basis and got to think, problem solve and teach others about things that didn’t have a single thing to do with my home or family. Every mom craves that on occasion. Every. Mom.
And what’s with the punching people in their faces? Not friendly.
I have to ask…did you even read my post? I said absolutely nothing about “freetime.” Zero. No mom has free time, whether she works in or outside of her home. It would seem that you have a “Peg Bundy eating bon-bons on the couch all day” image of what our lives are like, and you couldn’t be more wrong.
I’m on the move…constantly. I have to eek out time for myself if I want it, just like every other mother.
And all day to run errands? Are you serious? My kids don’t just sit idly by all day, so I have “freetime” to do my housework, run to the grocery store, pay bills and get my work done. Yes. I said work. I work from home on top of my household and family responsibilities. In fact, I consider it one of my household and family responsibilities.
I respect your life, just as I expect you to respect mine. Making assumptions about what goes on in another woman’s house and passing judgment on her is somewhat jerky, wouldn’t you agree?
I also commend these moms. I commend all moms. And, I absolutely consider the opportunity to stay home with my kids a privilege and luxury, because I know that there are millions of moms out there who would love to be in my shoes.
I wasn’t complaining. If you’d read my post, you’d understand that. I suggest next time you toss a rant like this out on someone’s blog, you read everything she had to say first. It helps with relevance.
Just sayin.
Photo: flickr.com/photos/chatblanc1/4769837586