Is there anything more cozy than sitting by a fire and drinking hot cocoa? There is if you consider watching all of the fun Christmas specials on television as well. It is a family tradition that we do this every year and I look forward to it because we are all excited for the season to begin with. The warmth of the fire simply adds to that feeling and I’m really glad that we had a wood burning stove installed a few years ago. Not only does it provide that feeling during the holidays it is also a reliable secondary heat source in the event that the power goes out. The HVAC system is great and keeps the house at a well-maintained temperature so long as the power is on but if we have a storm that knocks that out we can rely on staying warm anyway. We actually had the wood stove installed following a storm that left us with no heat for about three days. That was very scary because we could have had pipes burst during that time and that would have only made matters worse. We live in a single story house with no basement so the wood stove is sufficient to keep the house warm enough for that not to happen. If we did have a basement I probably would have opted to have a whole house generator installed by our local HVAC company instead because most of the pipes would be downstairs. Ensuring the safety of your home when it is extremely cold outside is very important so having that back up plan in place is key. I have great peace of mind and I am glad that I get to enjoy the fire for more positive things instead most of the time.