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Wednesday, December 29, 1999 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER D5 Oakville Beaver - Real Estate How to have a ball at home on New Year's Eve D o you know w h ere y o u 're celeb ratin g this N ew Y ear's E ve? S even o u t o f 10 c o n sum ers plan to ring in th e m illen n i um at hom e this year, acco rd in g to a survey co n d u c te d by C arav an O p in io n R e se a rc h C o rp o ra tio n International. It can be in tim id atin g to host such a m illen n iu m celeb ra_ tio n , b u t w ith th e rig h t H tool y o u r party can be the event of th e y ear. F o llo w in g a re p a rty p la n n in g tip s 4 on `H o w to 'Ar% jj H ave a B all at H o m e ' as you w a tc h th e s p e c i a l ligh ted ball d ro p over T im es S quare. · N early 70 p e r cen t o f us ag ree that the lig h tin g in a hom e has a direct effect on th e m o o d o f a party. An ex cellen t w ay to c reate a soft look th ro u g h o u t a room is to place lights at d ifferen t heights and varying w attages. · D id you e v e r w o n d e r w hy ev ery o n e c o n g re g a te s in th e kitchen at a p arty ? I t 's th e light. People tend to g a th e r in places w here the lig h t le v e l is b rig h t en o u g h to see the person w ith w hom th e y 're sp eak in g . To p re v e n t g u e sts from h a n g in g out in th e k itch en all night, be sure to c reate en o u g h pockets o f light around the party to e n c o u ra g e m ingling. · I t's the little th in g s th at count. P ick one co lo u r and carry it th ro u g h th e party to g iv e your N ew Y ear's c e le b ra tio n an im pressive flair. B egin w ith the in v ita tio n s and extend it all the way through to the p a rty favours. · L ig h t p ro jected through a C h ristm as tree or at a po in settia during the h o li day season can soften any room w ith un u su al sh ap es and sh adow s. P lace a sp o tlig h t behind the tree o r plant and aim the light tow ard the c e ilin g to c re a te in te re s t ing sh a d o w s aro u n d th e room . · K eep th e lig h ts on th e h ig h est se ttin g near the b u ffet tab le so y o u r g u ests can see w hat th e y 're putting on their plates, then dim the lights in the liv in g ro o m to create a lo u n g e like look. · A dd a tw ist to o rd in a ry a p p etizers by offering a v ari ety of h o rs d 'oeu vres, each nam ed for a p e r son w ho h elped sh ape th e m il len n iu m . For e x a m p le , try The E instein or The B abe R uth. · To keep the party c irc u la t ing, place drinks and snacks in at least tw o sep a rate lo c a tio n s. O ffer food and d rin k s sh o rtly a fte r g u e sts arrive, and m ake sure th e se refreshm ents are readily available at all tim es. Take advantage of holiday sales and give your loved ones the perfect gift now R em em b er y our elderly friends and relatives th is holiday season w ith a gift they w ill really ap p reciate - all y ear `round. F or a little tim e and m oney, you can m ake th eir hom e a safer place. against the glass. Here are 10 ways to give the gift o f security: 1 - Install a dead b o lt that uses a key. D oors w ith w indow s o r w ith glass beside them can be b ro k en into easily. An in truder sim ply breaks the g lass, reaches through and unlocks the door. The key sh o u ld alw ays be kept som ew here other than in the lock, but close enough to reach in an em ergency. 2 - S crew s in the strike plate should be at least th ree inches long, reaching into the studs on th e d o o r fram e. E ven a deadbolt w o n 't help if the strik e plate is ripped o u t by som eone forcing th eir w ay in, cau tion John S cinocca o f the H om e D epot. " A t less than a do llar for the screw s, this is p ro b ab ly the m ost econom ical hom e security m easure anyone can tak e," he says. 3 - Install d o o r and w indow alarm s. T his is e a sie r than it sounds. M any hom e im provem ent cen tres carry alarm units that sim ply hang on a doork n o b . W hen the do o r is opened, an alarm sou n d s. B eyond ju s t a security m easure, it lets the h ard -o f-h earin g know that a friend or rela tiv e is enterin g the room . S e lf-a d h e s iv e w in d o w alarm u n its w ork m uch the sam e way, sounding if an object hits 4 - A dd ex terio r lighting. H alogen flood lights are econom ical and shine brightly. U sing them w ith light- and m otion-sensitive fixtures w ill add to the security as well as beauty o f the hom e's exterior. 5 - Inside the hom e, reinforce any w allm ounted banisters. U sing longer screw s and w all brackets, you can m ake sure th at anyone clim bing the stairs w ill have a sturdy b an ister to grab on to if they lose their balance. 6 - O ther areas o f the hom e can be su scep ti ble to dangers o f slipping. A rea rugs, w hich are good for keeping the house w arm er in w inter, can slide even on carpet. U se n o n -slip pads underneath to keep them in place. Show ers and bathtubs are potentially d an g er ous, but non-slip decals m ade for show ers w ill help to give sure footing. C o nsider using these on vinyl floors as w ell, near a sink o r o th er w ater source, w here a slippery, w et flo o r is lik e ly7 - S calding w ater in the bathroom o r kitchen can also cause bum s. S cinocca recom m ends installing scald -p ro o f faucets as a precaution. 8 - F o r co ld er clim ates, w here there is likely to be snow o r ice, a general w interizing check is a good idea. M ake sure the chim ney is free o f debris that could start a fire, and check to m ake sure the furnace is in good w orking order and has new filters. Install new in su latio n , if necessary, and caulk and d raft-cau sin g crack s around doors and w in dow s. M ake sure there is a pail o f salt o r sand and a trow el n ear an e x terio r door for any trips ou td o o rs, p articu larly to the m ailbox. "A lso, look around the house fo r potentially h azardous sidew alks o r outside stairs," says Scinocca. "In stallin g a handrail m ay keep an eld erly person from slip p in g on ice." 9 - S m oke detecto rs and carbon m onoxide d etectors are a household staple. A nd, changing the b atteries at the tw ice-y early tim e change is b ecom ing a habit. B ut can the resident hear them ? I f not, rep lace e ith e r o r both units. If you elderly frien d o r relativ e is hard o f hearing, m ake the e x tra effo rt to choose the loudest alarm s. 10 - P u rch ase a co rd less phone fo r the house so the resid en t can keep it in a pocket. Be sure to pre-p ro g ram 9-1-1 in the speed dial, and em b ellish the button w ith b right ink o r paint. If they happen to fall o r an in tru d er tries to break in, they can call fo r help w ith the touch o f a b u t ton and relay health inform ation, if necessary, to em ergency services. "T he phone w ill also be handy for a quick call to you o r the g ra n d c h ild re n ," S cinocca says. m e new vei\R JU ST MOUND m e CORNGR! J, s e iu /in a / o u t o u r o e /v j b e s t, ^ 7 o o u /^ fr% e s u /& , n o r t /i, s o u t/i, e a s t a n d to e s /? , < C o e iH j o V e to 9 /e a /^ to o a /' c /o o t/ e o e r^ c o A e re ^ / Kim Adams* Elizabeth Bilbija* Stephanie Burgess* Irene Carley* David Cashen* Kathleen Christie* Anne Clarke* Geoff Conway* Dan Cooper** Donna Cutler* Gabriela DaRosa* Manuel DaRosa** Diane Dawtrey* Claudia DiPaola* Rina DiRisio* Helen Fedeyko* Donna Fradette* Wendy Fradette* Andrew Gariepy* Kathy Hadall* Kerry-Anne Hall* Sue Hodge* Alan Hubble** Robin Jepson* Walt Jurgen* Thomas Kenna* Mark Kirton* Elizabeth-Anne Kukurs* Wim Levert* Vickie McEwen* Ronnie Mills* Phyllis Nicholson* Aly Noel* Heidi Noel* Daphne Ostrowski* Lynda Ostrowski* Stacy Peereboom* Diane P. Powell* Ron Pretty** Isabelle Rourke* Deborah Sankey* Willie Sims* Mario Sita* Helen Skube* Lisa Solis* Maryann Thompson* Brad Thomson* Valerie Thornton* Ken Tucker* John Vail* Kate Vanderburgh* Sylvia Verdenhalven* Richard Weima** Doug Williamson** Olga Zoque* Area Sales Manager: Adrienne Lake Helen Barker* Anne-Marie Billinghurst* Terrance W. Blott** Lynne Blott* Victoria Bramm* Michael Brennan* Marilyn Henderson Briehl* Sharon Burton* Mary Cardamone* Anne-Marie Chatham* Thelma Cheney* Heather Christensen* Morag Connelly* Kevin Conroy* Paddy Cooper* Wendy Costante* Brenda Curliss* Sandy Dalton* Helen Danko* Joanne Dean* Jennifer Fink Mather* Dudley Foster** Michele Gaboury* Liz Harley* Kim Harley* Nancy Gerrie** Diana Gi Ilard** Larry Gillard* Harvey Goodbrand** Dina Hauck* Marion Henderson** Vic Holmes** Gloria Ingram* Malcolm Ingram* Carol Keen* Gwen Kennedy* Kim Kennedy* Mira Lucic* Blair Mackey* Alan Mackey* Margaret Mackey* Bruce MacKinnon** Rita MacKinnon** Jeff Mahannah* Roger Mather* Gerry Manno* Peter McCormick* Anne Metcalfe* Mary Morra* Ford O'Brien* Lynn O'Grady* Shirley O'Meara* Amelia Persaud* Betty Phillips* Ed Pryla* Barbara Rogers**Don Ross* Kim Saxton* Carolynne Sawdon* Cheryl Smith* Dorothy Thomson** Hugh Thomson* Sue Tompkins* Andrea Trapman* Bob Watson* Frances Wedlake* Ken Wedlake* John Westerberg** Doug Williams** Ruth Anne Winter** Vic Yates** Sandra Davis Zulauf* Area Manager: Nancy Gossling NORTH SERVICE OFFICE LAKESHORE OFFICE 326 LAKESHORE RD. 251 NORTH SERVICE RD. ___ ___________ 8 4 5 -4 2 6 7 V_ _ £ £ " £ *"\ _ £ * 3 3 8 -3 7 3 7 Sales Representative ** Associate Broker Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd., Broker VISIT OUR NEW WEBSITE: www.oakvilleroyallepage.com _ _/