As October comes to a close and the trees begin to put on their annual fashion show in West Michigan and Greater Lansing, Halloween creeps closer every day. In just one week, many of America’s sidewalks will be taken over by pint-sized versions of cartoon characters, stormtroopers, and Minions.
As you dress up your house for Halloween, Eastbrook Homes would like to remind you of some important safety and security tips to help prepare your home and yard for trick-or-treaters.
Safety is always an important consideration, but on an evening when potentially thousands of children could take over your neighborhood sidewalks, there are steps you can take to ensure your little visitors receive treats without tricks.
- Carefully assess the approach to your front door. Is it easy to follow and well-lit? If not, you might want to pick up some solar lights from your local hardware store to line your driveway and sidewalk. A box of four or eight solar accent lights is inexpensive and, since there is no wiring or installation requirements they can be easily removed and stored for use at another time.
- Make sure pets are restrained while children come to your door. Your dog may be friendly and love to play but a constant flow of kids in costume may be too much for your furry family members. Especially when most of the activity will be near eye level. Whether you ask your four-legged friends to wait inside or out while traffic dies down, be sure they cannot make a sudden appearance at your Halloween festivities and possibly knock down, or even bite, a child or their parent.
- Speaking of pets – please remember that chocolate is toxic to dogs. Make sure to keep bowls and packages of candy out of your fur baby’s reach. Whether you are handing out treats to little visitors or setting a bowl somewhere for your guests to enjoy, please remember that chocolate is dangerous to dogs and keep that chocolate up and out of reach.
- Clean up the path that your visitors will follow. If there are trees or bushes along the way to your door, be sure to clear away fallen branches or debris that could cause tripping. Also, watch where you put your Halloween decorations – that colorfully lit cutout of Wendy the Witch may be your favorite thing to display, but remember to keep the electrical cord from tripping your visitors or hanging across their paths.
- Your eye-level is not a child’s eye-level. Remember that ghostly faces and ghoulish costumes will pass by your landscaping, outdoor furniture, decorations, and even vehicles on a much lower level than your grown-up visitors will. Be trim back shrubs and low hanging branches to be sure nothing is hanging, swinging, or poking out from high-traffic paths which might find its way to someone’s cheek, or worse, their eye.
- Cracks and crevices can cause tough travel. Watch for tripping hazards around your home, where different surfaces meet, or walkways handoff foot traffic to driveways, place lighting even as a temporary solution. If you can’t place lights to mark a potential tripping hazard, mark the spot with decorations or steer your traffic down a different part of the path.
- If you are not going to be home, make it obvious. To keep trick-or-treaters from walking a dangerous, darkened path, be sure to leave lights on so that kids and adults alike are not injured.
Halloween can be fun for ghosts, I mean, hosts and visitors alike and Eastbrook Communities create safe and secure places for neighborhood kids to go door to door in search of candy. So stock up on treats such as bite-sized candy and single-serving snacks and perch on the porch to watch children’s creativity come alive.
Eastbrook homes always provides more home, and community, for the money!
