Now that the holiday season is kicking into high gear, we thought it would be a great time to review important tips for keeping your influx of package deliveries to the home safe from theft. With most consumers choosing to shop online for Black Friday and Cyber Monday specials, mail carries and delivery services will be working overtime to ensure all of those items arrive in time on their doorsteps.

This is season is also, unfortunately, an opportune time for thieves who take packages right from the steps in daylight. It’s happened time and again to so many, so making sure you have some protections in place is key.

Here are 3 things to consider before you start online shopping this season.

Plan to Be Home

If you can plan to be home for any major deliveries its best. This way you can be home to accept, sign if needed and put the package away before you leave your home. Thanks to advanced tracking and shipping possibilities today it’s possible to know exactly where your item is en route and a time frame you’ll need to be home to receive it.

Choose an Alternate Delivery Address

If you spend more time at the office than home, and your boss is okay with it, you may want to set your delivery address for there to receive a pricey item you can’t risk sitting outdoors until you’re home from work to retrieve it. Alternatively, if you have a friend or relative who is home all day and can accept it for you instead you should make plans for the delivery to be sent there to be safe. Especially if there are expensive electronics or jewelry contained within the boxes.

Invest in Smart Security Devices

There are so many smart security devices on the market today ranging from sophisticated high price wirelessly connected cameras and floodlights as well as economical choices that still allow you to monitor who is accessing your home, walking up to your porch and more. In today’s climate, you can never be too protected. It’s worth investing in a monitoring device. It can also come in handy if a package comes with the contents inside damaged or there is any dispute over the actual delivery at all.