The holidays are just around the corner.

Stores will be moving seamlessly from Halloween candy and pumpkins to Thanksgiving foods and decorations and finally to Christmas.

The old song “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” will surely be playing on the continuous loop of holiday music in malls and stores across America, but for some, the holidays are really a time that slaps them with reality.

Everyone who hasn’t been completely devoid of any news source knows the economy is still sluggish and with that comes lay-offs.

Yet,, Christmas time will roll around.

It’s easy to tell kids you can’t afford something in the day-to-day life, but at Christmas time, the pressure mounts even more.

Also, more fortunate people have boxes of presents full of unopened and unused gifts of all kinds.

These circumstances tend to lead to a peak of break-ins and robberies as residents stockpile their homes with fresh, new gifts for loved ones.

Sometimes, the perpetrator is a desperate person.

Other times, it is an opportunistic one.

Either way, it could be you who is a victim of larceny.

In the coming months, be mindful to lock doors and windows, set alarms and work with neighbors to keep both your house and theirs safe.