Christmas week feels different.

• Jobsites go quiet.
• Crews take time off.
• Phones slow down.
• Trailers sit where they were left.

For most contractors, that quiet feels earned.

For thieves, it feels like opportunity.

Every year, the stretch between December 24 and January 2 becomes one of the most vulnerable windows for equipment theft. Not because security suddenly gets worse, but because everything stops being watched.

And that creates a blind spot most businesses do not think about until January.

Why Christmas Week Is Different

Thanksgiving creates a long weekend. Christmas creates something else entirely.

• Multiple days off.
• Staggered schedules.
• Offices closed.
• Suppliers shut down.
• Neighbors traveling.
• No predictable return time.

A trailer that might normally sit unattended for one night can now sit untouched for five, six, even eight days.

• Thieves know this.
• They do not need speed.
• They do not need precision.
• They just need time.

Christmas week gives them exactly that.

The Problem Is Not the Lock

Most contractors do the same things before breaking for the holidays.

• They lock the trailer.
• They chain the hitch.
• They park it where it feels safe.

Those steps matter. But they are not enough when the time window stretches this long.

• Locks slow theft down.
• They do not stop it.

And when a thief knows no one is coming back until after New Year’s, slowing them down does not change the outcome.

Why Theft During Christmas Week Hurts More

A theft on December 26 is not the same as a theft in mid-October.

When equipment goes missing during Christmas week:

• Police reports get delayed.
• Insurance offices are closed or short-staffed.
• Suppliers are shut down.
• Replacement tools are backordered.
• Crews are scheduled to return without the equipment they need.

By the time everything opens back up, you are already behind.

What should have been your first productive week of January turns into damage control.

Lost mornings become lost weeks.

Delayed starts become rescheduled jobs.

Momentum disappears before the year even begins.

The January Fallout Most Contractors Underestimate

January is not a slow month for most businesses.

• It is when work restarts.
• It is when cash flow matters again.
• It is when customers expect action.

Discovering a theft after Christmas means starting the year on defense instead of offense.

• You are not planning jobs.
• You are filing paperwork.
• You are sourcing replacements.
• You are explaining delays.

That ripple effect costs far more than the equipment itself.

Why Christmas Week Theft Is So Predictable

This is not random crime.

It is routine-based.

Thieves look for patterns. Christmas creates the most predictable pattern of the year.

Long stretches with no activity.

Clear signals that no one is checking.

Assumptions that “nothing will happen this week.”

The more predictable the silence, the easier the theft.

The Blind Spot Is Not the Trailer. It Is the Gap in Awareness

Most thefts are not discovered when they happen.

They are discovered days later.

That delay is what turns a theft into a major disruption.

The difference between a minor scare and a major loss often comes down to one thing. Knowing something moved when it should not have.

Real-time awareness closes the Christmas week blind spot.

Christmas week is not just a holiday break. It is the longest unattended window of the year for many businesses.

• Trailers sit longer.
• Jobsites stay quiet.
• And the consequences of theft stretch well into January.

The best time to protect your equipment is before the holidays begin, not after something goes missing.

👉 Protect your equipment before Christmas week creates a blind spot. Choose $99 to start with monthly service or $599 for a one-time payment and put tracking in place now

Learn more at www.buyalertrax.com

Because the worst way to start the new year is already behind.