Christmas can be a busy and fun time – but it’s vital to keep some basic safety advice in mind, especially when shopping for gifts online.

Here are RoSPA’s top tips for celebrating safely:

Buying toys:

• Always use reputable retailers, ideally with a high street presence.
• If the price is ‘too good to be true’, it probably isn’t a legitimate product.
• Before giving the present, check for recalls at: www.gov.uk/product-safety-alerts-reports-recalls
• For toys look for a CE, UKCA or UKNI mark. Check for warnings to ensure the toy is age appropriate and suitable for young children.
• When buying gifts for older children and adults, consider whether young children could get access to the products. For example, small high strength magnets may look very appealing to young children, and water beads, which are very small when dry, can easily be lost then found by little hands later. If either of these items are swallowed, they can cause serious internal injuries.
• For more toy safety advice, visit: www.rospa.com/policy/home-safety/advice/product/toy-safety 

​Purchasing other gifts:

• Special care should be taken when shopping online, especially from online marketplaces where products may be listed by sellers outside of the UK. Always look for details of who is selling the item and where they are located, as goods from outside the UK may not adhere to the same safety standards.
• Take care when buying products containing button batteries, which can be seriously harmful if swallowed. RoSPA recommends that purchasers check that toys that require button batteries have a lockable battery compartment, which is required under the Toy Safety Regulations. The same is not legally required of other products such as remote controls, car keys, weighing scales (and many more) but RoSPA would still recommend that you conduct checks to make sure they are secure and undamaged.

Preparing the home:

• If young guests are visiting, take a look around the home and consider what could be a risk to them. For example, looped blind cords are a strangulation hazard, while cleaning products, medicines, vapes and button batteries should be kept out of reach and up high or in a locked cupboard to prevent accidental poisoning/ingestion.
• Remember when putting up the decorations that, although some may look like toys, they are not required to meet the same safety standards, so should be kept out of reach of children.
• Use electrical candles rather than real ones and ensure they do not have accessible batteries.
• If fairy lights are old, think about replacing them or getting them PAT tested. Make sure they are turned off at night.

The big day:

• It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of the day, and having more people in the home can add to the risks.
• Clean up spills and tidy mess to reduce the risk of trips, slips and falls.
• Ensure someone is always supervising children, as it’s easy to be mistaken in thinking that someone else is doing it.
• Remember to keep alcoholic drinks out of the reach of young children.
• Keep young children out of the kitchen when there will be hot ovens and pots and pans that could be pulled over as well as knives lying around.
• A travel cot can be a useful place to put very young children while the food is being served up.
• If young children are in a highchair, remember to strap them in properly.

With some forward planning and awareness of the potential risks, your festive season can be safe and happy for everyone.

For more Christmas safety advice, visit: www.rospa.com/policy/home-safety/advice/christmas-safety