With longer nights and shorter days, winter becomes a prime time for burglars to operate, with an average 25% spike in home burglaries over autumn and winter.
What’s more, the Christmas period sees more high-value gifts be put at risk when left unsecured, making easy pickings for potential burglars.
However, there is plenty you can do to protect your home and valuables this festive season. Read our latest blog to find our top tips for keeping your home and valuables safe over Christmas, with product recommendations and practical advice from the experts.
Security Products to Keep Valuables Safe over Christmas
Take a look at some of our top recommended security products to enhance your home security this Christmas and New Year.
Domestic Safes – An incredible 3.6 million Brits have stored valuables and cash in their sock draw – one of the first places a burglar will check. A small, domestic safe is a practical and cost effective solution for securing cash, valuables and jewellery.
Pictured below is the Chubb Air safe from the Chubb Elements range; a secure and cost effective compact safe for storage of valuables in the home or office. We also hold stock of the Chubb Air laptop safe also pictured below, perfect for securing electronics this Christmas.
Security Grilles for windows and doors – Security grilles can be fitted on any internal or exterior door or window – making them an extremely versatile and robust security feature, providing adequate defence from intruders using tools such as bolt cutters, axes and crowbars.
Shed Padlock – Bikes, gardening equipment and other presents stored in the shed need to be secured properly to avoid them becoming an easy target for burglars.
We recommend the Abus Rock padlock from our range of secure padlocks, these extremely strong padlocks are made with specialist alloys and hardened steel bodies, with a shackle guard to protect against attacks with tools commonly used to break into sheds.
For more advice and expert tips, why not check out our ultimate guide to securing your shed.
Practical Tips to Keep Valuables Safe over the Christmas Holidays
In addition to security products, here are a few practical tips for staying secure that you may not have considered when going away this Christmas period:
Keep quiet on social media – Whilst you may want to share pictures of your Christmas break on social media – be vigilant, announcing that this the house is empty can lead to a break in. Be cautious of what you post and who you have as a friend on social media – you may also consider upping your privacy settings to determine who can see your posts.
Don’t load the car the night before – If you’re heading out early in the morning, avoid packing all your Christmas presents in the boot of the car. These can become an easy target for thieves and in most cases, your vehicle is significantly easier to break into than your house.
Let your neighbours know – Whilst you shouldn’t let everyone know, you may want to tell a trusted neighbour, family member or friend that you are away. Having them check on your home or park their cars on your drive reduced the chances of somebody trying to break in.
Give the impression that someone’s home – Asking a trusted person to park in your driveway is just one of ways to give off the impression to thieves that someone’s in, you could also:
- Keep lights and appliances on a timer.
- Have a trusted person come round to clear any post from your letterbox.
- Cancel any regular deliveries that are left outside such as milk.
Double check – Before you leave your house, double check that all windows and doors are locked, gates are shut and burglar alarm is set.
A Safe and Secure Home This Christmas With Thornhill Security
We would like to wish all our customer a very Merry Christmas and look forward to another successful year in 2018! If you need any help securing your domestic or commercial premises this year, we can help.
With a huge range of specialist products designed to suit any application, we also have lots of free information about securing different types of premises here. For more help and advice, why not give one of our expert team a call today on 0117 967 4994.
