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We realize that Christmas celebrations will probably start this weekend for some. After all, it’s difficult to get everyone together at once.

Some families will use this weekend to celebrate ahead of the holiday, then will make a drive or welcome other family next weekend. Some will play Dirty Santa or White Elephant with friends or just do a traditional gift swap.

That means many living rooms will be filled with boxes and wrapping paper this weekend.

And eventually, all of that will be taken out and disposed of in trash cans or piled in front of homes. Yet, as crazy as it sounds, we’re going to ask you to be careful in how you dispose of all those empty boxes this year.

We usually write about this topic around Black Friday and again around Christmas because it comes up year after year. Unfortunately, there are criminals out there that will look at empty boxes to determine what new gifts a household received this year. An expensive gift might make a home more enticing to break into, so keep that in mind when breaking down boxes.

For instance, if you got a brand new, 70 inch television from Santa this year, maybe do something to ensure the box isn’t in plain sight for all to see when you sit it out for recycling or trash pickup.

The same goes for those Playstation or XBOX boxes, jewelry or anything else with a high value.

The Troup County Sheriff’s Office posts about this every year, asking people not to let a Grinch ruin their Christmas.

We urge you to keep this in mind as you throw out old boxes this year.