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How To Make This Holiday Season Less Stressful

. Posted by in • Corpus Christi
Holiday hacks

Helpful Hacks For A Stress-Free Holiday Season

It’s hard to believe, but the holidays are upon us once again. Soon enough, we’ll be picking apples for cider, hanging garland over the fireplace and welcoming family into our homes for a celebration.

And while the holidays can bring great cheer and joy, the impending arrival of family and friends can leave you feeling a bit overwhelmed. To avoid any unwanted stress, we suggest taking necessary steps to ensure your home is in tip-top shape before the festivities begin.

Read our tips below to make getting ready for this holiday season a little bit easier.

Make a Checklist

Before your guests arrive, assess your home to see what areas need attention. During this time you can also take inventory of what you can reuse from prior years’ festivities and what you’ll need to purchase.

Remember, though, taking on too many tasks can set you up for a stressful situation. … Read Full Post »

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May The Force Be With You This Holiday Season

. Posted by in • Austin
Star Wars holidays

The holiday season is closing in on us – although it may not feel like it here in Texas.  With the holidays comes the release of the newest Star Wars movie.  Rogue One hits theaters on December 16, 2016.  What better way to celebrate the launch of a new Star Wars movie than combining it with the holidays?  Here are a handful of ideas to get your creativity flowing.

Star Wars Holidays

Christmas offers myriad opportunities to combine holiday festivities with Star Wars.  You can create all sorts of Christmas decorations that are Star Wars-themed.  Popular ideas are Christmas ornaments, stockings and nativity scenes using Star Wars LEGO bricks.  And don’t feel like you have to limit yourself – there are many folks out there who have a Christmas tree entirely dedicated to Star Wars.  Check out this Darth Vader Christmas tree!  If you are an Elf on the Shelf fan, you … Read Full Post »

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How to host a cookie exchange

. Posted by in • Bryan-College Station
How to host a cookie exchange

Have you ever been to a cookie exchange? It’s a gathering organized to exchange cookies, primarily around the holidays.  For those of us who love to bake and have a sweet tooth, these parties are heaven. Hosting a cookie exchange seems like a great idea in theory, but planning it might be overwhelming. These tips will help you plan a successful cookie exchange without losing too much of your most precious resource: time.

Planning is Key

Create a plan for your cookie exchange well ahead of the date. You’ll need to consider a number of things before settling all the details. First, the guest list – which of your friends like to bake? Inviting friends who have no interest in baking probably won’t result in a successful cookie exchange. Choose the majority of friends who are seasoned bakers, and consider adding a few newbies who are developing an interest. 

Give your guests at least … Read Full Post »

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Deer Proof Plants For Your Yard And Garden

. Posted by in • San Antonio
Deer proof plants

Is your yard a deer buffet? Do you plant a garden, only to wake up and discover your strawberries are trampled, your tomatoes have mysteriously vanished, and your greens are now sad little stubs? Thanks to deer, are your peach trees anything but peachy?

In many parts of San Antonio, deer face dwindling habitats and increased populations. In their search for their next meal, deer often find our yards a suitable substitute. As anyone with deer will tell you, they seem to eat almost everything.

Below we’ll look at ways you can make your yard and gardens less appetizing to deer and what deer proof plants you can add to your landscape.

Discourage Deer Visitors

When it comes to deer, you have a few lines of defense. You can make it difficult to get into your garden, you can try repelling the deer with chemical and physical tactics, and you can choose deer-resistant plants … Read Full Post »

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Holiday Safety Tips [INFOGRAPHIC]

. Posted by in • Austin
Holiday safety tips

The Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that over 15,000 people are injured each year while decorating for the holidays. Whether it’s because of a fall from a ladder, a fire linked to your Christmas tree, or a mishap experienced while putting up your Christmas lights, an injury is the last thing you want to spend time having to deal with during this busy time of year.

Holiday Safety Tips

ABC Home & Commercial Services wants to help you get ready for the holidays. Make sure that you stay safe this holiday season by following our list of dos and don’ts for using ladders, decorating with Christmas lights, and keeping your pets and children safe.

From all of us at ABC, we wish you a joyous – and safe – holiday season.

 

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How To Showcase Your Home This Holiday Season

. Posted by in • San Antonio

Selecting Holiday Lights That Are Right For Your Home

We love all the beautifully decorated homes in this city—especially during the holiday season. Don’t you? Whether they’re varied in color or snowy white, these arrangements put a smile on our faces.

There are many trends and options currently available to showcase your home before your holiday gatherings begin and your out of town guests arrive. Are you considering laser lights, or curious about what’s involved in setting your lights to music? We’ve compiled a list of outdoor Christmas decorating ideas to help you decide what options are the best for your home.

LED Lights

There are many benefits to LED lighting, so it’s no surprise more people are reaching for them instead of traditional string lighting.

For starters, they’re more energy efficient, using up to 90% less energy than traditional lighting options; one traditional bulb uses the same amount of energy as 140 LEDs. They also … Read Full Post »

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Day of the Dead History & San Antonio Observances

. Posted by in • San Antonio
Day of the Dead history

In tandem with Halloween, another holiday takes the spotlight at the end of October and beginning of November: Día De Los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead. This is an important holiday for many people of Mexican ancestry and therefore is quite popular in San Antonio.

In this article, we will explore the history and traditions of the Day of the Dead, and list some of the major festivities that will take place this year in San Antonio.

What is the Day of the Dead?

People in Mexico celebrate Día De Los Muertos on November 1 and 2 as a way to honor loved ones who have passed away. You can also find Día De Los Muertos celebrations in Guatemala, Brazil, Spain and within US Mexican-American communities.

Day of the Dead is actually two different celebrations. November 1st is known as either Día de los Inocentes (Day of the Innocents) or Día de los … Read Full Post »

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Where do rats come from?

. Posted by in • Corpus Christi
where do rats come from

Like many homeowners, you’ve unfortunately found yourself with a rodent infestation. Rats have invaded your home. Before you even begin to attack the problem, you might be wondering: how did these rats even get into my house? Clearly, you didn’t let them in the front door, and you keep your windows closed all the time. So how did they get in?

Where do rats come from?

First, you have to consider what attracts rats, or any rodent for that matter: sources of food and shelter. Your home is a shelter, so there isn’t much you can do to change that. However, you can take steps to keep the food in and around your home from attracting rats.

What attracts rats?

Rats have a keen sense of smell, so the best way to keep them from detecting food in your home is to seal it up as much as possible. Consider these tactics:

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Fall is Tree Planting Season in Austin

. Posted by in , • Austin
tree planting tips

Tips and Tricks for Planting a Tree This Fall

Fall is one of our favorite times of the year. Between sipping apple cider, snacking on pumpkin muffins, and preemptively planning for this year’s Thanksgiving Dinner, there are just so many activities we look forward to.

And though you might be more interested in carving pumpkins or watching football, you might want to consider planting a few new trees around your home. Did you know that fall is the perfect time of year to plant new trees in Austin?

Below are a few of our tree planting tips.

Selecting Your Tree

Properly planting a new tree starts with your selection. The first step to choosing the right tree is deciding its purpose. For example, will it provide privacy or is it simply for aesthetics? Deciding how your tree will enhance your home will help you decide which tree you should look for.

What type of tree would … Read Full Post »

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Where do rats live?

. Posted by in • Bryan-College Station
where do rats live

Do you have rats in your home? For most people, the very thought of rats in the attic or running through your kitchen is enough to cause nightmares.

The good news is that when you learn more about rat behavior and what attracts rats to your home, it’s easier to decide what to do next. Below we’ll look at the rats we have in central Texas, where rats hide, and how to get them out of your home – for good.

Rats in Texas

In Bryan-College Station, the main rat species that we see around town is the roof rat (Rattus rattus). Roof rats generally are brown or black in color and are smaller than the Norway rats found throughout most of the rest of the United States.

Roof rats choose nesting spots in trees, bushes, wood piles, and in our homes. They love palm trees and other high nesting locations where there are … Read Full Post »

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