With the strangeness that has been 2020, it is perhaps reassuring that the week between Christmas and New Year is likely to remain largely the same.

By this, we mean that nobody really knows what day it is, party food for breakfast is mildly acceptable and you've almost reached the limit of turkey inspired leftover creations. Hopefully, you will all have managed to spend time with your immediate family and we wonder whether Zoom will have been able to cope with the millions of virtual Christmas celebrations for those of us who have had to change our plans.

We came across some seasonal statistics produced by Aviva and we thought that sharing them would be a great way to provide both some entertainment and guidance to help your continued celebrations run smoothly so settle down with a Baileys and a mince pie!

• 110 damaged televisions, knocked over whilst putting up or taking down decorations.
• 77 candle related incidents, including table centrepieces and wax spillages.
• 68 carpets damaged following real Christmas tree leakages
• 27 Christmas party losses including loss or theft of items such as mobile phones, jewellery and watches – perhaps a less likely risk this year!
• 15 items accidentally disposed of with wrapping paper
• 11 feet put through ceilings whilst retrieving Christmas decorations from the loft.
• 6 sets of fairy lights causing fires through overheating.
• 6 cookers destroyed whilst cooking Christmas dinner
• 5 decorative reindeer stolen from outside properties
• 4 Christmas card writing incidents including ink spilt on a carpet
• 2 gold rings lost whilst making mince pies.
• Santa's sleigh crashing into a house when the horse was startled at a Christmas festival.

These numbers were collated across the period 2016 to 2020 and whilst they may almost border on clips from You've Been Framed, there are ways to reduce the chances of something spoiling your Christmas and we've added a few suggestions as follows.

• Be careful not to overload electrical sockets for  decorations. Always follow the guidance and instructions and switch all extra lights and decorations off at night and when the house is left unoccupied.
• Use a tray with sides beneath your Christmas tree to avoid water spillages.
• Check waste wrapping paper before disposal for both smaller presents and jewellery which may have become entangled.
• When returning decorations to the loft, check that the area you are stepping on is sufficiently boarded out and always use a torch or fixed lighting. Sports or DIY head-torches are good for this.
• Where possible, secure outdoor decorations using floor pegs for freestanding items and cable ties to secure expensive lighting to the fabric of the property.

Like many of you, our team will be enjoying some quality time with those  they can, but we remain available to all of you should something go wrong; with claims lines being open 24/7, or if you need help.  We would like to wish you all a peaceful and safe Christmas and let us all hope that 2021 sees a gradual return to at least some normality.