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Add a Chimney Sweeping to Your Holiday Checklist

The hearth and a crackling fire is a traditional part of the holiday season. So, now you will want to make sure that your fireplace and chimney are ready. This is for your friends and family to gather around. Make sure you add a chimney sweeping to your holiday checklist!

Make sure your chimney is safe for holiday fires

An annual chimney sweeping and inspection is a vital part of your home maintenance. If you have not yet had your chimney swept and inspected since the last fire-burning season, you need to before you light your holiday fires.

Your annual chimney sweeping and inspection ensures that your chimney is safe for use and ready for holiday fires. In addition, your chimney sweeping clears away dangerous and flammable creosote, as well as any blockages that may have formed within your chimney. The inspection looks for any weaknesses in your chimney or firebox that could lead to chimney failure. Why do this now? A chimney sweeping and inspection for the holiday season dramatically lowers your risk of a chimney fire or deadly carbon monoxide poisoning!

Have your fireplace ready

Don’t let your fireplace be a point of frustration this holiday season. Turning on your fireplace to find that the pilot won’t ignite?  Lighting a fire to find that smoke billows back into your living space? This can definitely dampen your holiday gatherings. Your chimney sweeping and inspection will include an inspection of your fireplace and all of its working components. Your sweep will help you make sure that your fireplace is in good repair. Also, make sure it’s ready to warm your home this holiday season.

Have a cleaner home

A dirty chimney can mean a dirtier home. A dirty chimney can fill your home with unpleasant smell. This includes smoky, rotting or decaying smells. Having your chimney cleaned can help to clear away those unpleasant smells. This way your home is fresher and cleaner as you prepare for holiday parties and holiday guests.

Enjoy a more efficient fire

A chimney sweeping also can have you enjoying more efficient fires this holiday season. A clean chimney and freshly tuned fireplace operates more efficiently. For a wood-burning fireplace, that means less tending to the fire. For a gas fireplace, that means lower energy bills.

If your chimney needs to be swept and inspected as you prepare for your holiday gatherings, call Your Chimney Sweep to schedule your chimney and fireplace services today! Your Chimney Sweep can help you to check your chimney sweeping and inspection off of your holiday to-do list. In addition, help you have your home ready for your holiday guests and holiday gatherings.

The Best Holiday Activities to Enjoy Around the Fireplace with Your Family

For most people, fireplaces are unbreakably linked to Christmas: Santa comes down the chimney; we watch the yule log burn; and we light a fire and enjoy the company of  friends and family at holiday parties. With that in mind, we have some best holiday activities to enjoy around the fireplace with your family.

Decorate your hearth.

Your hearth is an area of significance in your home. It serves as a gathering space for your family and adds a visual focal point to your living space. As you ready your home for the holiday, don’t forget the hearth! It can be a fun family activity to choose which decorations get the honor of adorning the hearth. And, of course, everyone has to hang their stockings.

Enjoy a Christmas reading.

The hearth provides the perfect setting for a family reading of your favorite Christmas stories. Especially if you have small children, your family will enjoy growing the tradition of reading a Christmas classic near the hearth, whether it’s “Twas the Night Before Christmas, “Frosty the Snowman” or “The Grinch who Stole Christmas.”

Tell ghost stories.

For generations, people gathered around the fire on Christmas Eve and told ghost stories.  While the tradition has fizzled, it can be a fun one to revive around your hearth this Christmas. You can look up traditional Christmas ghost stories, make up your own or turn to the ultimate Christmas ghost story, “A Christmas Carol.”

Roast marshmallows.

Roasting marshmallows is usually reserved for summer camp fires, but if you have a fire burning in your open-hearth fireplace, you can enjoy toasting marshmallows with your family. Just make sure you are using long forks to avoid burned fingers, and make sure children stay far enough away from the fire. You can make s’mores or enjoy your toasted marshmallows with cups of hot chocolate while you enjoy the company of your family and friends.

Track Santa Claus.

We all know Santa comes down the chimney each Christmas Eve, but what child wouldn’t love to see proof of the act? Have the kids place a cookie sheet full of flour in front of the hearth before they go to bed on Christmas Eve. As Santa delivers presents, use a boot to leave “Santa tracks” in the flour.

Have a living room campout.

Kids love a campout, even if that campout is indoors. Have a campout around your fireplace this holiday season. Make sure that everyone is sleeping a safe distance from the hearth, and keep blankets, pillows and stuffed animals a clear distance away from the fireplace.

Enjoy each other’s company.

Perhaps the best holiday activity in front of the fireplace is enjoying the company of your family and friends. Gather around a roaring fire with food and drinks. Talk, laugh, tell stories, play a game, watch your favorite Christmas movie. Enjoy the special time of year when everyone gathers in the warm glow of the fireplace to celebrate.