With the biggest holidays of the year quickly approaching, it’s the perfect time for start planning for decorations that add festive charm to your home. But at the same time, it is important to never sacrifice safety. With a bit of creativity and preparation, you can create a welcoming environment full of Florida flair for your family and guests during this joyful (and spooky) season.
Halloween Decorations
Spooky Outdoor Displays: Halloween is the perfect time to turn your lawn and garden into a haunted scene with tombstones, skeletons, and fog machines. Motion-activated props can surprise trick-or-treaters and spook anyone who gets too close.
Pumpkin Art: Take part in traditional pumpkin carving, or take it to the next level by painting pumpkins with glow-in-the-dark paint and creating intricate designs using stencils. You can even incorporate some Florida flair and tropical elements, such as by carving pineapples or decorating palm trees with Halloween ornaments.
Eerie Lighting: Use unique variations of orange and purple string lights to outline windows and doorways and emphasize the season.
Thanksgiving Decor
Autumn Wreaths: Decorate your front door with interesting wreaths made from fall leaves, pinecones, and berries. Or, take it in a different direction and create a Florida variation of local flowers and palms.
Harvest Centerpieces: Table centerpieces of gourds, mini pumpkins, and candles add a classic touch (and continue the theme of pumpkins from Halloween.)
Ambient Lighting: Swap out the spooky lighting for cooler lanterns and fairy lights to create a cozy atmosphere for outdoor gatherings.
Outdoor Christmas Decorations
Illuminated Exteriors: After two seasons of ambient lighting, round out the collection with classic Christmas lights and inflatable decorations.
Decorated Palm Trees: Give your Florida home a unique twist by wrapping palm trees with light, ornaments, and ribbons. Florida has unique features and nature – take advantage of it!
Themed Christmas Trees: To build off this unique theme, opt for a beach-themed tree adorned with seashells, starfish, and ornaments in shades of blue and silver.
Protecting Your Home During the Holiday Season
The upcoming holiday season is a fantastic time to get creative and make your home one of a kind. However, this season can also bring perils and dangers to the home, especially if you do not take adequate precautions.
In Florida, the tail end of hurricane season overlaps with Halloween and Thanksgiving, and we have already thoroughly discussed how you should protect your home from dangerous storms. Keep an eye on weather forecasts and have an emergency plan ready, plus secure your festive new decorations to prevent them from becoming hazardous during high winds or storms.
Fire hazards also increase during this season due to the extensive use of lights, candles, and energy-heavy decorations. Before finalizing your designs:
- Inspect electrical items for frayed wires or damaged bulbs.
- Consider switching to LED lights, which are cooler and more energy-efficient.
- If you use candles or decorations with flammable components, secure them to stable surfaces and move them away from high-traffic areas of the home.
Finally, we have to address cooking. Halloween isn’t a popular time to have many guests over for meals, but Thanksgiving and Christmas are definitely times when homeowners spend hours and hours in the kitchen.
During holiday meal preparations, never leave cooking food unattended, and keep a fire extinguisher accessible. Smoke detectors should be functioning properly, with new batteries and thorough tests before the holidays begin. Carbon monoxide detectors are also advisable, especially if using gas appliances or fireplaces.
So, with all these risks upcoming in the holiday season, what can you do to protect yourself, your family, and your property? The simplest and most effective way is to ensure your insurance coverage is updated and sufficient to compensate for your losses. Policies should cover fire damage, theft, and weather-related incidents. If you aren’t sure what your current policy contains, it’s time to take another look with the help of an experienced insurance agent.
Contact Anderson & Associates Insurance Associates today to speak to our team members and find the best policy to protect everything you own before the upcoming holiday season.
