Fun Holiday Party Ideas and House Prep Tips

The holidays are an exciting time of year, full of parties, house guests and good food. If you’re hosting a holiday party, you want to make sure everyone is feeling the holiday spirit. These holiday party ideas and tips are sure to help you and your guests make the most of the holiday season!

Holiday party ideas

Here are 5 entertainment ideas to make your holiday party a hit:

1. Organize a gift exchange

Have everyone sit together and pass around gifts. If you’re feeling adventurous, try out a white elephant gift exchange. If you plan on buying a large amount of gifts for all your guests, here are some tips to help you save for holiday shopping.

2. Host an ugly sweater contest

A holiday party is the perfect time to reach into the back of your closet for those old, ugly sweaters. Tell guests in advance about the contest, and have a small gift or goodie for the worst dressed!

3. Create a photo booth

Set up a simple area with holiday props for guests to take pictures with. If you don’t want to limit the fun to one spot, you could even place instant cameras around the house to encourage guests to take pictures throughout the party.

4. Cookie decorating station

If you’re expecting children at your holiday party, a cookie decorating station is a sure-fire hit. All you need for this delicious activity are plain sugar cookies, frosting, candy, gumdrops, sprinkles and chocolate chips.

5. Set the holiday mood

Don’t forget to set a merry ambiance suited for the holiday season. Customize a playlist with holiday tunes, or stream an instrumental holiday station. You can even play a classic holiday movie on silent in the background with a projector or TV.

Some other mood-setting ideas:

• Hang vintage ornaments like mini chandeliers
• String holiday lights around the house
• Get flickering LED candles to add a feeling of warmth
• Place festive blankets and pillows on furniture
• Decorate with special objects that remind you and your family of the holiday season

Check out the infographic below for some fun holiday statistics and more tips for throwing a merry holiday party.

Holiday house prep tips

Provided by Nationwide

Pet Insurance Buys Peace of Mind for Dale Earnhardt Jr.

As Nationwide’s current ad campaign highlights, Dale Earnhardt Jr. knows how important it is to insure and protect his “many sides” including his car, his small business, and his home. He takes that same protective approach to his beloved pets.

“Pets are great, because they’re another personality in the house,” he says. “They like to do things with you. Wherever you’re at, that’s where they want to be. I think we humans appreciate that affection and camaraderie.”

In addition to enjoying his dogs’ companionship, Earnhardt says part of his responsibility as a “pet parent” means keeping them healthy. Junebug, a Pomeranian, and Gus, an Irish Setter, are so much a part of the family that they even get to travel with him and wife Amy.

“They like to go to the beach, or anywhere there’s a lot of grass for them to run around on,” he says, adding that even when he’s traveling for work, they can find a place for the dogs to play.

“Some of the tracks we go to have fenced-in areas and dog parks nearby where they can play.”

Healthy = Happy

Maintaining good health in both dogs is a priority in the Earnhardt household. Both he and his wife, Amy, make sure that proper diet, exercise and veterinarian visits are part of the routine.

“Amy has a special food that she gets from the vet, and we take [the dogs] to the vet quite regularly, any time we notice something isn’t quite right,” he says. “They’re always around us and we play with them a lot, so we can tell when they’re not feeling well. We really try to stay on top of that.”

That’s where pet insurance can come in handy, he says, by helping defray costs of visits, treatments and, in case of a more serious disease, it can help cover the cost of surgical procedures.

“I had an 11-year-old Boxer named Killer [who got cancer] and we were hoping it was treatable, but it wasn’t,” Earnhardt recalls. “His treatment was very expensive. Having pet insurance gives me peace of mind, knowing if something like that happens, we have it covered.”

While he has loved all of the pets he has had throughout his life – everything from hamsters, cats, dogs and even a rabbit – he says that the bond he has with Gus is unlike any other he has experienced.

“My connection with him is stronger than any pet I’ve had,” he explains. “Keeping him healthy and safe is so important to me, and having pet insurance is critical to that.”

If you’re a pet owner, make sure you have a plan in place to protect your pet’s health and safety. Learn more about the benefits of pet insurance.     

Original article appears in Now from Nationwide

Landscaping Ideas on a Budget

6 Backyard Landscaping Ideas on a Budget

1

Low-budget landscaping needn’t be bare-bones. A little money and effort can create a big impact regardless of how much space you have.

Before starting your backyard renovation, have a design in mind. It’s easy to be wooed by beautiful blooms at nurseries. If you have a plan, you’re more likely to purchase the right plants and know where they should go. Here are some backyard landscaping ideas that can spruce up a yard on any budget.

1. Invest in soil

“Soil amendments and preparation – raking, tilling and grading – are the most important aspects of budget gardening,” says landscape architect Eric King. Plants grow better in improved soil, so you can start with smaller, cheaper plants rather than larger, more expensive ones.

To stretch your plant budget further, shop wholesale nurseries and end-of-blooming-season sales. Focus on perennials that can overwinter in your climate zone (so you don’t have the cost of planting each year) and that provide year-round interest through color or texture. You can add bright pops of color throughout the year with a few potted annuals.

2. Employ dimensional design

Even budget-friendly backyard landscaping ideas should include plants of various heights and textures for visual depth. Designing vertically, for instance, makes a small space seem larger and more interesting, so you get more style and function for your money. Ensure plants aren’t all one height, though.

3. Pick low-maintenance foliage

Include bushes and ornamental trees in your landscape design, too. These options add interest for decades, without the need to replant, thus saving money long-term. Slow-growing Japanese maples, for instance, add height, color and, in winter, architectural interest. Ornamental grasses add low-maintenance texture and eliminate the need to replant seasonally with flowers. Non-woody vines, like jasmine on fences or walls, add dimension and draw the eye upward. Woody vines like honeysuckle and bougainvillea, in contrast, are best suited for pergolas and other well-ventilated structures, because they trap moisture beneath their leaves, which contributes to wood rot. Vines can quickly fill in barren areas, providing extensive coverage at relatively little expense.

4. Create a destination point in your yard

Even if you have a tiny yard, you can create a destination point. A seating area and a garden feature, like a reflecting ball that’s separated from the rest of the lawn, are two examples. Budget-friendly options include refurbished and repurposed garage sale finds like retro-aluminum chairs and construction elements like salvaged windows or newel posts. If you’re handy, build your own seating after a trip to the home-supply store. Access your special area with a winding path that invites walkers to slow down and enjoy the changing views.

5. Set up a “secret room”

Mobile plantings can make the garden room multifunctional. Says landscape designer Chris Lambton, host of HGTV’s “Going Yard” series: “Using planters on casters lets you create a secret room with plenty of greenery but gives you the flexibility to easily move plants out of the way to repurpose the area for dining or entertaining.”

6. Consider alternatives

For paths or patios, natural stone or pavers are a good investment if you plan to stay in the home a while. On the other hand, “pea gravel or crushed stone can make a fabulous surface for much less money than mortared flagstone or pavers,” King says. If you choose stone or pavers, however, you can still save money by not mortaring them in place.

To install pea gravel, stone or pavers, remove any existing turf from the area and put down a layer of landscaping fabric to minimize weeds and to prevent the gravel from being pressed into the soil. You can add the pea gravel on top of the fabric. For stone or pavers, cover the fabric with sand for easy leveling. Soften the look by planting grass or creeping plants like elfin thyme or Irish moss in the spaces between the stones.

Improvisation is integral to low-cost landscaping ideas. If, for instance, replacing an unsightly fence isn’t feasible, screen it with reed or rolled bamboo. Repaint faded plastic planters using plastics paint from any home store. If your patio slab is broken, cover it with a layer of pea gravel.

Low-cost backyard renovations can be exciting and fun. Using your ingenuity to find the best deals and your creativity to employ a variety of materials can transform your yard from dreary to dynamic – even on a tiny budget.

Renovating your backyard can increase your home’s property value, too. Make sure you have the right coverage for your home and backyard, get a home insurance quote today.

8 Tips To Keep Your Family Safe From Heating Fires

Hey ya'll although the weather has been great lately I am sure we still have some cold Virginia days ahead.  I found this article about how to take care of your house and appliances to prevent house fires.  If you have ever known someone who has experienced a house fire, you know how terrible they can be.  Follow these easy tips to keep you family safe.  If you need to get your house insured give me a call!

Original Article by Nationwide

Overall, heating equipment is the second leading cause of U.S. home fires and home fire deaths. There are between 350,000 and 400,000 house fires in the United States every year that result in almost $8 billion in annual damages, according to the National Fire Protection Association.

A heating fire can be catastrophic to a homeowner. Space heaters, fireplaces and water heaters are the biggest culprits but any type of heating element, including stoves and heating units, can cause fires.

Here are eight tips to keep you and your family safe from home heating fires this winter:

Inspect your furnace

Contact an HVAC professional to inspect your furnace and clean all the ducts. Remember to change your furnace filter each month during the winter and to remove all flammable material from the area around your furnace.

Clean your chimney

If you use your chimney a half-dozen times or more each year, it is a good idea to have it cleaned of soot and creosote every year. If you don’t want to hire a chimney sweep, consider a Creosote Sweeping Log, which can be bought at any home improvement store.

Check your chimney for structural damage

Make sure your chimney doesn’t have any cracks. If your chimney does have air leaks, it can change the flame in the fireplace and possibly ignite and cause a fire outside the fireplace.

Use a diffusion screen with your fireplace

A diffusion screen will prevent a flaming log from rolling out of the fireplace or sparks from popping out to cause a fire. If you have carpeting or wood flooring in front of your fireplace, it’s especially important to use a diffusion screen.

Be careful with space heaters

According to the U.S. Fire Administration, space heaters are involved in 74 percent of fire-related deaths. The best way to prevent a home fire caused by a space heater is to purchase one with an emergency cut-off so that it will automatically shut off if tipped over or accidentally knocked down. Otherwise, if it falls on the carpeting and doesn’t turn off, it could easily ignite a fire.

Never leave space heaters unattended. And make sure you place your heater on a flat, level, non-flammable surface such as ceramic tile rather than on a carpet. Don’t place space heaters near curtains, bedding or anything flammable, and make sure you are plugging the space heater into a GFI (Ground Fault Interrupter) system, so that if a malfunction does occur, the electricity will automatically turn off.

Check your water heater

As your water heater gets older, the thermostat and the heating element inside will start to deteriorate and the flame will become inconsistent. This could cause a flash fire, particularly if the water heater is in the garage where it is susceptible to wind or changes in air supply that could be caused by someone opening or closing a door.

Give your boiler a wide berth

Be careful not to put flammable items, such as boxes and newspapers, around your boiler system.

Don’t forget about the laundry room

Most homeowners don’t realize the laundry room can be a source of home fires due to the duct that connects to the back of the dryer and collects flammable lint. Homeowners should have their duct cleaned at least once a year. Your dryer doesn’t capture 100 percent of your lint and some of it ends up in the ducts, and that material is very flammable. If you have enough dryer lint built up in the duct you can have a huge fire.

Car Dashboard Lights - What Do They Mean?

Know What Your Car Dashboard Lights Are Telling You

Today’s cars have many different dashboard lights designed to alert drivers to possible problems and to make sure you can take care of those problems quickly.

Here’s a quick guide to common dashboard warning lights and car symbols.

Check engine

In newer cars, the lit icon will look like an engine. It means the vehicle’s computer has triggered a diagnostic trouble code indicating there’s an issue. If it occasionally turns on and off, it’s an intermittent problem and you’ll just want to have it checked next time you take it in for maintenance.

However, if it stays on, it means there’s an ongoing problem – though it could be as simple as the gas cap not being closed tightly. If the problem continues, get the engine checked out. If the light flashes rapidly, the problem may be serious and you should get to a repair shop immediately.

Low tire pressure light

This dashboard light looks like a tire with an exclamation point in it and means that at least one of your tires is underinflated. You’ll want to check your tire’s air pressure immediately.

TPMS

This dashboard light stands for Tire Pressure Monitoring System and when it comes on, there’s a problem with the monitoring system – probably a failed sensor in one of the wheels. Some people mistakenly believe this means the air pressure is low in the tires, but the TPMS is responsible for keeping track of air pressure in the tires; when it notices a tire is low, it triggers the low tire pressure light. If the TPMS light remains on, have the sensors checked during regular maintenance – and never rely solely on warning signals. You still should check your tire pressureonce a month.

Oil pressure

If you see a dashboard light that looks like an oil can, you need to pull over at the nearest gas station. This light signals the loss of oil pressure, and you need to check to make sure you aren’t losing oil.

Coolant temperature

A warning dashboard light that looks like a thermometer means the engine’s temperature is beyond the normal limits, and it should be checked immediately to keep your car from overheating. You’ll want to check the coolant level and make sure the radiator cap is properly sealed as well as look for coolant leaks. Always allow time for the engine to cool down before checking the coolant level, however, to avoid getting burned.

Battery/charging

When the dashboard light that looks like a battery comes on, your voltage level is below normal. It means the vehicle’s charging system isn’t functioning properly, so you need to have the battery terminals and alternator belt checked. If it’s an older battery, you may need to replace it.

Brake system

The dashboard light that looks like a circle inside a set of parenthesis with an exclamation point in the middle represents your brake system – and if it comes on while driving, you need to pay immediate attention to it. It could be triggered by driving with the parking brake on, but it can also mean you’re losing brake fluid.

If it comes on and off intermittently, and you don’t notice a change in braking ability, you should get it to a repair shop as soon as possible. But if it stays on there’s a problem that needs to be taken care of immediately, and you should have it towed to a repair shop.

In the case that you do need to go to a repair shop and have work done, make sure you have the best coverage. Learn more about how Nationwide auto insurance can protect you and save you money.