CAA has released their annual list of tips helping locals keep their homes safe and secure this holiday season.

If planning your Christmas at home, its important to ensure artificial trees are fire resistant and if using a live tree, ensure freshness and moisture at all times.

Making sure smoke and carbon monoxide alarms are in working order is also another important and easy tip.

Christine Neimcyzk shared a few more tips if you are planning to be away from home for the holidays.

"Ensure all your doors and windows are locked, timers are great to turn lights and possibly TV or radio on or off during the night or night, turn off your water supply, it's important to have someone enter the home and check on things daily to ensure pipes are not frozen and we're finding out that checking the pipes is a requirement of most insurance policies during the winter months."

Neimczyk says posting plans on social media or an answering machine can warn potential burglars, "be careful of what information your are giving that may effect your safety or the safety of your home or others, just be careful with your messaging and sometimes keep it short and simple and remember who might get that information and sometimes they say too much information isn't a good idea either so just keep it to the basics."

Keep decorations away from lights, candles, heaters, fireplaces, etc. and place candles in noncombustible containers and never leave burning candles unattended.

Suspend newspaper delivery and arrange for someone to pick up your mail or contact your mail service to hold your mail until your return.

Ask a neighbour to shovel snow around your driveway and sidewalks.

Make sure your home insurance doesn’t expire while you are away and that it will provide coverage for your belongings.