Having a busy time getting ready for the holidays? While everyone is shopping, baking, gift wrapping, decorating and going to parties, the American Red Cross, Southeastern Michigan Regional Chapter has holiday tips to help make the season a safe one.

1. Prepare vehicle for traveling to grandmother’s house. Build an emergency kit and include items such as blankets or sleeping bags, jumper cables, fire extinguisher, compass and road maps, shovel, tire repair kit and pump, extra clothing, flares, and a tow rope.

2. Drive the sleigh and reindeer safely. Avoid driving in a storm. If travel is a must, let someone know the destination, the route being taken to get there, and how long it should take to arrive. If the car gets stuck along the way, help can be sent along the predetermined route.

3. Help prevent the spread of the flu. Stay home if sick. Wash hands with soap and water as often as possible, or use an alcohol-based hand rub. Cover the nose and mouth with a tissue or sleeve when coughing or sneezing, and throw the tissue away after use. If a tissue isn’t available, someone should cough or sneeze into their elbow, not their hands.

4. Follow Santa’s fashion lead – dress in layers. When it’s cold outside, layered lightweight clothing will keep a person warmer than a single heavy coat. Gloves and a hat will prevent loss of body heat.

5. Use a Red Cross-trained babysitter when attending holiday festivities. Red Cross-certified babysitters learn to administer basic first aid; properly hold and feed a child; take emergency action when needed and monitor safe play. Some may be certified in Infant and Child CPR.

6. Avoid danger while roasting chestnuts on an open fire. Stay in the kitchen when frying, grilling or broiling food. If leaving the kitchen even for a short period of time, turn off the stove. This is important because unattended cooking causes nearly 90 percent of all kitchen fires.

7. Be a lifesaver during the holidays. The Red Cross recommends at least one person in every household should take first aid and CPR/AED training. Visit www.redcross.org/training for details and to register.

8. Designate a driver or skip the holiday cheer. Buckle up, slow down, don’t drive impaired. If someone plans on drinking, designate a driver who won’t drink.

9. When the weather outside is frightful, heat the home safely. Never use a stove or oven to heat the home. Never leave portable heaters or fireplaces unattended. Install smoke alarms.

10. Cut down on heating bills without being a Grinch. Get the furnace cleaned and change the filters. Make sure furniture isn’t blocking the heat vents. Close off any rooms not in use and turn off the heat in those rooms. Turn down the thermostat and put on a sweater.

11. Home for the holidays? Travel safely. Check the tire air pressure and make sure the windshield fluid is full. Be well rested and alert. Give full attention to the road – avoid distractions such as cell phones. If someone has car trouble, pull off the road as far as possible.

12. Resolve to Be Red Cross Ready in the New Year. Get ready now in case someone in the household faces an emergency in 2012.

The 2011 American Red Cross Holiday Giving Catalog, now available online at www.redcross.org/gifts, contains over 25 meaningful “symbolic” gifts that can be given in honor of friends, family members and business associates. Gift-givers can provide a full day of emergency shelter for victims of disaster, purchase hospital comfort kits for wounded service members, or pay for critical vaccinations that will save children’s lives. With each gift purchased, the gift-giver receives a greeting card that can be presented to friends and family explaining the gift given in their honor.

“Selecting a gift from our Holiday Giving Catalog is a wonderful way to live-out the spirit of the season,” said Kim Baker, chief development officer in the Southeastern Michigan Region. “Holiday donations help save the day when fire destroys a neighbor’s house, when a patient needs blood, or when a member of the military has a family emergency back home.”

This year in Southeastern Michigan, 681 local Red Cross volunteers responded to 1,163 emergencies, helped 9,611 individuals in time of crisis, and served 8,314 active military, veterans, and family members. Nationally, the Red Cross responded to more than 68,000 disasters, including wildfires that burned hundreds of thousands of acres, tornadoes that destroyed entire towns, and flooding that left communities under water from the Dakotas to the East Coast.

Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces workers provided assistance to more than 386,000 members of the military and their families, veterans and civilians. And Red Cross Blood Services distributed more than nine million blood products for patients in nearly 3,000 hospitals across the United States.

“History has proven that Americans respond generously when people are in need,” said, Baker. “Giving through the American Red Cross Holiday Giving Catalog is an opportunity to help us be ready to respond 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, whenever the need arises.”

About the American Red Cross:
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies nearly half of the nation's blood; teaches lifesaving skills; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a charitable organization — not a government agency — and depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit www.redcross.org or join our blog at http://blog.redcross.org.

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