Christmas Safety: How to Protect Your Home from Holiday Break-Ins
The holidays should feel warm, peaceful, and full of good food — not full of worry about who’s watching your house while you’re gone. At Squatch Survival Gear, we craft tough, American-made gear and back it up with free knowledge drawn from years of military and survival experience — because your readiness matters, and Christmas is no exception. Break-ins spike during the holiday season because criminals know gifts are everywhere, people travel, and attention drifts. A little preparation now keeps your home, your family, and your gear safe.
Let’s walk through simple, practical, real-world ways to harden your home for the holidays.
Hide the patterns criminals look for
Most break-ins aren’t random. Thieves look for predictable indicators: empty driveways, dark houses, overflowing mail, or the same lights turning on at the same minute every night. Mix your patterns up. Change lighting schedules slightly each day. A bathroom with an exterior window is a good place to put a timer. A bathroom is the one place someone can be in at any time of day or night. Ask a trusted neighbor to park in your driveway occasionally. Don’t broadcast your travel plans publicly. A house that looks lived-in is a house they avoid.
Make your home look unpredictable
Predictability attracts the wrong kind of attention. Unpredictability makes a criminal look somewhere else. Leave lights on timers at different intervals. Keep a television on in a back room. Ensure packages aren’t left on your porch. Criminals don’t want uncertainty — and you want to give them plenty of it.
Fortify the weak points they test first
No we don't mean defend you house like Kevin McCallister. Most break-ins come through the simplest access points: back doors, garage side doors, sliding glass doors, and windows hidden from the street. Reinforce the kicks spots with door jamb upgrades and heavy-duty screws. Make sure every lock actually latches. Use dowels or bars in sliding tracks. Walk around your home at night and look at it the way a criminal would. If you can find an easy entry, so can they.
Control what people can see from outside
Your Christmas tree should feel magical — not like a display case for anyone walking by. Don’t place high-value gifts in direct view of street-facing windows. Close blinds when you leave. Break down gift boxes the right way: cut them up and hide them inside trash bags instead of leaving a giant flat-screen TV box by the curb.
Build real-world readiness, not paranoia
Prepared doesn’t mean fearful — it means aware. Most criminals want the path of least resistance. If your home looks like work, they’ll move on. If you create unpredictability, lock your weak points, and limit what people can see, you’ve already done more than most.
And if anything ever goes sideways, having the right gear within arm’s reach matters. A Squatch Survival Gear chest pack, backpack, or admin pouch keeps your essential tools organized and accessible — especially when seconds count. Our American-made gear is built for exactly these moments: the unpredictable ones.
A simple habit that pays off all year
Every night before bed, take one minute and do a walkthrough: doors locked, curtains closed, vehicles secured, porch clear. That one-minute ritual prevents more break-ins than people realize.
Stay aware. Stay unpredictable. Stay Squatch-ready.