Why Christmas is the Busiest Time for a Locksmith | IKS Locksmiths

Christmas is creeping up on us fast. We operate a 24 hr emergency locksmith service even at Christmas. As a locksmith Christmas is my busiest time of year. It’s as if all the phone calls and jobs come at once. I’m not complaining at all because I appreciate each job that comes our way. I do have to admit that it can be challenging in terms of juggling the workload as this time of year. It is always a relief to clock off on Christmas eve to spend time with my family. At the same time being so busy can be quite motivating and I can find myself on a roll and working quite productively. There isn’t much time to switch off!

Why The Christmas Security Rush?

There are several reasons we find people call a locksmith before Christmas;

Cold Winter Weather Causing Lock Problems

Image courtesy of Robert Wiegmann

When it gets to October and November that’s when we start to get calls about locks ceasing up and keys snapping because of the cold weather. If this happens to you there is a quick and easy tip you can try before calling a locksmith. Read our post about ways to avoid calling an emergency locksmith to find out how to defrost your lock!

Lost Keys and Locked Out

Image courtesy of Donnie Ray Jones

The party season seems to cause an increase in lost keys and people getting locked out. Getting locked out can be costly. If this sounds like a familiar scenario you can read here about ways to avoid getting locked out.

Increase in Burglary Around Christmas

It is no surprise that there is an increase in burglaries at Christmas. The dark evenings, the fact that people are buying and the fact the people are busy and can get distracted make the season a time for rich pickings for intruders. I take no joy from attending the scene of a burglary and much prefer helping people to secure their homes to prevent burglary in the first place. Most of the burglaries take place at night but some occur during the day. You can read our night-time security advice here.

Stepping Up Home Security at Christmas

It is quite common for people to take the decision to re-evaluate their home security at Christmas. Usually it is because there have been burglaries in the neighbourhood or because they are going away for Christmas and want to make sure that their home is secure while they are away. There is nothing worse that returning home to a burglary. There are various ways to increase security levels such as;

• Ensuring all doors and windows have insurance approved locks – this is a basic requirement
• Adding a lock guard – for external doors
• Adding hinge bolts
• Reinforcing door frames
• Upgrading to high security locks and keys
• Installing Security grilles or bars

For our top Christmas Security Tips read here. You can read more here about how to improve home security.

Hopefully some of the tips in this post can help you avoid calling a locksmith this Christmas. Prices are higher for out of hours locksmith calls so it’s ideal to try to avoid calling a locksmith late at night or on bank holidays. I always say that prevention is preferable to cure.   If you want to check your home security levels before Christmas to avoid becoming a victim of burglary give us a call. We would be happy to carry out a free home security survey to put your mind at rest.

Good luck with all your Christmas preparations!

Stay Safe

Martin (The North London Locksmith)