Christmas Home Security: Protecting Your Home (and Presents) Over the Holidays
Apply current police seasonal guidance to doors, windows, lighting, deliveries and travel plans without treating any measure as a guarantee.
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024 7522 4730A Practical Christmas Home-Security Checklist
Christmas can change normal occupancy, delivery and key routines. That makes it a useful time to check avoidable exposures, but this page does not claim a fixed Coventry seasonal burglary or lockout spike without a retained, dated dataset.
Examples worth checking include gifts visible through windows, branded packaging left outside, travel plans shared publicly and keys being misplaced during changed routines.
Here is a practical Christmas checklist. Apply it to the actual property and household routine rather than treating it as a measured ranking of Coventry incidents.
Before Christmas: Protecting Your Gifts
Do Not Leave Presents Visible Through Windows
Avoid displaying gifts next to a street-facing window. With the room lit after dark, items close to the glass may be visible from outside.
Put your tree wherever you like, but keep presents away from windows. Stack them behind furniture, in another room, or do not put them under the tree until Christmas morning.
Think Before You Post on Social Media
"Off to Tenerife for Christmas! Back on the 28th!" is basically a public announcement that your house is empty for a week. Even check-ins at airports, photos tagged at hotels, and countdown posts ("3 days until our holiday!") tell people when you will not be home.
Set your profiles to private, and if you must post, do it after you get back. At the very minimum, do not post specific dates or locations while you are away.
Use Timer Lights
If you are spending Christmas Day elsewhere, timer lights can support a realistic occupancy routine. Combine them with correctly locked doors and windows, managed deliveries and a trusted neighbour; no timer guarantees deterrence.
Christmas Eve and Christmas Day
Secure Deliveries
If you will not be home for a delivery, use the carrier's authorised diversion, collection-point or nominated-neighbour option. Do not share a home key or key-safe code with a courier unless you have deliberately assessed and accepted that access risk.
Lock Up Properly on Christmas Eve
Changed routines can lead to a door being pulled shut without reaching its intended locked state. Follow the exact doorset instructions; where the installed mechanism requires lifting the handle and turning the key, pulling it closed does not establish that the locking points and deadlocking feature are engaged. The entry resistance of a latch cannot be inferred from a universal credit-card claim.
Christmas Day Security
If you are hosting, make sure you lock up properly before everyone arrives. Back doors get left unlocked so people can pop out to the garden. Garages get left open. Windows get opened because the kitchen is steaming. These are all entry points.
If you are going to someone else's house for the day, do a full lock-up: all doors locked (not just pulled shut), all windows closed and locked, timer lights on, curtains closed.
The Empty Box Problem
This one comes up every year. On Boxing Day, the recycling goes out. And suddenly every house on the street is advertising exactly what they got for Christmas.
A box from a 65-inch Samsung TV. PlayStation 5 packaging. A box for a new MacBook. These tell every passing criminal exactly what is inside your house and roughly how much it is worth.
Break boxes down flat and put them inside your recycling bin with the branding facing inward. Better yet, take them to the tip yourself. Do not leave them stacked next to your bin for a week.
Going Away for Christmas
If you are leaving your home empty over the Christmas period, here is a checklist:
New Year's Eve: Plan for Changed Key Routines
Parties, travel and changed routines can make it easier to misplace keys or close an unfamiliar self-locking door. That is a practical planning point, not a measured claim that New Year's Eve is Coventry's busiest lockout period.
If you are going out on New Year's Eve:
A standard emergency lockout starts from £59 where the assessed entry method and stated labour scope apply. The published starting-price basis does not add a bank-holiday premium, while the itemised total still depends on the inspected lock, access method and any parts; see prices.
Boxing Day Delivery Theft
If you expect deliveries or returns between Christmas and New Year, use an authorised collection point, in-person handover or a trusted neighbour rather than leaving parcels unattended.
Make Security Part of Your Christmas Routine
Build a brief security check into your Christmas routine: operate each lock as intended, close accessible windows, manage deliveries and remove visible valuables from the car. These steps reduce avoidable exposure but do not guarantee security.
If you want your locks checked before Christmas or want to assess a door-security upgrade, call 024 7522 4730 with the full postcode to confirm the exact address, current availability and ETA. Check the prices page for published starting prices and the factors that determine the itemised quote.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do locksmiths work on Christmas Day and New Year's Eve?
Service is advertised 24/7, including Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Eve. The published lockout starting price is £59 and does not add a bank-holiday premium; the itemised total depends on the assessed entry method, stated labour scope and any parts. See /prices, then call 024 7522 4730 with the full postcode to confirm the exact address, current availability and ETA.
How should I dispose of Christmas gift packaging securely?
Break all boxes down flat so the branding is not visible from the street. Put them inside your recycling bin with the printed side facing inward, or take them to the tip yourself. Never leave boxes for expensive items (TVs, consoles, laptops) stacked next to your bin where anyone walking past can see them. Those boxes tell criminals exactly what is worth stealing from your house.
What is the best way to secure my home if I am away over Christmas?
Set timer lights in at least two rooms on staggered schedules. Double-lock all doors (lift handle and turn key on uPVC doors). Lock all windows. Close curtains. Ask a neighbour to collect post, park on your drive, and put bins out and in. Do not announce your absence on social media. If someone needs access for pet care, use a wall-mounted key safe rather than hiding a key. Cancel or redirect any expected deliveries.
How can I avoid getting locked out on New Year's Eve?
Check that you have your keys before closing the door and consider a spare held by a trusted person. If you assess a key safe, choose and manage it carefully because it stores a route to entry and cannot guarantee access. Do not leave a key in an obvious hiding place. My lockout price starts from £59; call 024 7522 4730 for the current scope and ETA.
I'm Albert, the independent locksmith behind Local Emergency Locksmith. These guides separate cited standards and public guidance from the checks that can only be made at the actual door. If you need a locksmith in one of the listed coverage locations, call me on 024 7522 4730 — I'm available 24/7.
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