From holiday gifts being stolen from your home to old Christmas lights that can cause a fire or friends having too many cocktails at your holiday party and then driving home, there are all kinds of potential home insurance claims that can pop up in December.

Homeowner’s insurance covers a variety of damage and injury claims. But why make a claim if you don’t have to? December is busy enough with other expenses and things to do in preparation for Santa’s annual visit. Here are some to avoid and tips on how to prevent them, and if they still happen, what type of insurance coverage you’ll need to protect yourself:

Hazardous holiday decorations

Holiday decorations are full of all kinds of hazards, with fire hazards being the main problems.

U.S. fire departments responded to an average of 210 home fires that started with Christmas trees per year from 2009 to 2013, according to the National Fire Protection Association. They caused $17.5 million in property damage annually.

Lights and candles can cause fires, such as strings of lights with worn or broken cords or loose bulb connections. Connecting more than three stands of lights on a tree can be dangerous.

To avoid disasters, turn off holiday lights before leaving home or going to bed, use flame resistant or flame retardant decorations, and keep your Christmas tree well watered. Don’t leave burning candles in unattended rooms or cooking appliances unattended.

Even if you don’t put up a Christmas tree in your house, it’s a good idea to have homeowners insurance year-round to protect against loss from fires and other accidents.

Stolen gifts

Expensive Christmas gifts that are visible through a home window — whether wrapped or unwrapped and under a Christmas tree — can be a target for burglars.

To file a theft claim, your insurer will require you to first file a police report. A claims adjustor may come to your home to assess the loss. Providing receipts, photographs and other information about stolen items can help determine their value. A home inventory list can help.

Your insurance policy should spell out the limits of your coverage, such as if the amount you’ll be paid for personal property losses will be based on replacement cost or actual cash value. Depreciation will be factored in to determining actual cash value.

To prevent a burglary, be sure to lock your doors and windows when you leave your home, and don’t keep a spare key under your door mat or in the mailbox. Those spots aren’t really secrets to burglars.

Holiday parties

As a host, you’re responsible for your guests’ actions after they leave your party. It doesn’t matter if you’re throwing a big party or a small one.

As we discussed in an earlier post on Halloween parties, “social host liability” is the legal term for criminal and civil responsibility of someone who provides liquor to a guest.  You won’t be liable for a drunken guest’s injuries if they’re negligent, but you can be held liable for third parties and passengers of the injured guest.

Homeowner’s insurance policies can have coverage limitations for this risk. Liquor liability coverage could be limited to $100,000 to $300,000, and more coverage may be needed to cover the value of your home and assets. Call your agent to review your coverage.

One solution is to hire a professional bartender who can limit guest drinking and is trained to know the signs of intoxication early. Another is to have guests pick a designated driver, or call cabs to take them home.

Bad weather

Freezing temperatures in December can crack pipes, causing leaks and possible flooding. While you can’t do much about the weather, you can protect your home from its effects.

Wrap any exposed pipes with insulation or heating tape, maintain a constant temperature in your house that’s warm enough to keep pipes from freezing, and know how to shut off the water if the pipes do freeze. Seal cracks or holes on outside walls to prevent melting snow from seeping in.

Check with your insurance agent to see if your homeowner’s insurance policy covers damage from leaking pipes. A typical policy will cover the cost of sudden, accidental damage to a home, but there may be a loophole if the leak wasn’t sudden and could have been prevented by regular maintenance.

Clean your home’s gutters so melting snow and ice can flow freely. Trim trees and dead branches so heavy ice and snow won’t cause branches to break and damage your home, car or hurt someone walking by.

You may need to buy supplemental insurance to cover the cost of cleaning up after a leaking water pipe, or to repair or replace the pipe. Call your insurance agent to better understand what your homeowners does and does not cover when it comes to your home’s pipes.

With these recommendations in mind for avoiding holiday mishaps at home, you can have a merry Christmas and keep your insurance agent where they’d rather be during the holidays — safe at home.

Aaron Crowe is a freelance journalist who specializes in personal finance writing. Follow him on Twitter @AaronCrowe.