The Holidays are always a magical time of year. But they're not without mishaps that can lead to some rather unusual insurance claims. Here are some of the zaniest we’ve found after scouring the internet.

Santa needs to wipe his feet
One homeowner claimed damage to a carpet caused by sooty footprints left on Christmas morning. Proof of Santa, perhaps? No, it was a hungry squirrel that had been tempted down the chimney by the array of nuts left out in the fireplace.

New gamers can get overly excited
Play Station® and other game counsels are still extremely popular. And some wild things can sometimes happen as one claim involving two brothers who got so wound up in their competition that one inadvertently threw his controller at the TV screen with the precision of a baseball fast pitch!  The resulting insurance claim for replacement of their new 60-inch Vizio® television was denied.

Virtual reality battles it out with actual reality
Those awesome commercials you see of people playing virtual reality games by putting on a headset have already led to claims related to seizures, torn ligaments and broken bones from falling over nearby objects. Nausea and motion sickness can also have some poor results on your living room carpet so proceed with caution!

Don't try and outdo the Griswolds
Every year, there are countless health insurance claims of people falling off of ladders and roofs while installing holiday lights. Another frequent source of claims are electrical fires started when there are too many strands of lights plugged into one outlet, whether that's inside, outside or in the garage.

Christmas stuffing
Then there's the story of a dog that wolfed down 12 mincemeat pies during the Christmas holidays, including the foil and the packaging. When the dog’s owner returned home that evening, the dog was lying on her back, feet in the air, and reportedly “twice the size she usually is.” As the owner rushed the poor dog to the emergency vet, the dog got sick all over the owner’s brand new car. The vet said there was not much more he could do and prescribed medicine to help “pass” the foil, which risked puncturing her gut. The insurer covered the cost of the medicine and the visit to the vet, but the policy did not cover the cost of cleaning her car.

Beware of the flying Christmas tree
One insurance company reported that a claimant was driving home from Christmas shopping when a large Christmas tree that was badly tied to the roof of the car in front of him came loose and smashed through his front windshield. “He was driving too fast and I saw the tree lift off and it flew straight at me,” the claimant reported. The car didn’t stop and they never came back for the tree or to take responsibility for the damage. The man’s windshield was covered by his insurance and the police let him take home the flying tree.

Lighting up the tree
It used to be that in days of old, people in various parts of Europe and in the United States would put real candles on their Christmas tree. Lovely, right? Dangerous? Absolutely! Recently, one insurance claim described how one homeowner attached candles to their Christmas tree and not only left the room but actually went next door to borrow something. The tree caught fire, which spread to the rest of the house. The homeowner claimed almost $400,000 damage on their home insurance policy which was later denied.

Turkeys can fly
A claimant reported opening the oven holding a baster and a pair of oven gloves. But the turkey was heavier than expected and as she tried to lift it out, the cooked bird flew out of the oven and onto the floor. It looks like the three-second rule applied, as the family enjoyed the remnants of the mess, while the insurer paid out for a new carpet.

A short holiday trip gone bad
While moving furniture around for Christmas dinner, one claimant tripped over the electrical plug when carrying the TV set, and dropped it into the fireplace. The set, unfortunately was not covered.