Dallas is one of the largest cities in the United States, which is why it is no surprise that the city's huge population has fast growing crime rates. Plenty of home owners are considering home alarm systems to protect their valuable belongings and a lot more importantly their loved ones.

While doing Christmas shopping at the mall a few weeks ago, a lady in line told me that a couple of weeks earlier a man followed her home from the mall and threatened her in her driveway. She called the Dallas police and filed a police report, and thankfully nobody was hurt and nothing was stolen; but what truly troubled her is knowing that this individual was still out there.

It is really important to keep in mind that crime rate is on the rise as the holidays approach; don't risk letting someone take your valuable belongings or put your family's safety at risk by not properly securing your property.

Here are simply a few ways to show you how a home security system can help protect your family and home this holiday:

• Monitor your house while visiting friends and family out of town during the holiday seasons. This helps maintain peace of mind knowing that you'll be notified immediately by the monitoring station if something goes wrong- excellent way to protect all the expensive Christmas presents.

• Protect your Christmas presents. You might have just bought a TV or an iPad as a holiday gift for somebody. Be sure not to put these big presents under the Christmas tree until Christmas Eve. Most importantly arm your alarm system when you are away.

• Arm and disarm your alarm system remotely from work, the mall, or anywhere you have your cell phone. Making it convenient to disarm the alarm for your house cleaner or sitter while you're out.

• Get notifications when your family arrives home from school or work to know that they're safe and sound. Monitoring the house until you're home is a smart way to keep an eye on your little ones. Assign a specific user code for each person who uses the system. That way you know when they arrive at the house and when they leave the house.

• Create reminders to arm or disarm your system in case you forget. This is a very useful tool when you're rushing out the door to all holiday celebrations and family gatherings.

Home owners of Dallas find it easier to be proactive in securing their homes rather than paying the consequences later when things go wrong. All it takes is one frightening situation to ruin the holidays. And that is why Dallas home security is our top priority.