You should have an emergency preparedness kit that is always ready to go at a moment's notice. Some basic items will make you and your family much calmer and better able to cope with things like loss of power and severe weather.
Keeping items like battery operated radios, walkie-talkies, lanterns, and flashlights in a secure, dry place will come in very handy for you and your family, and a lot more often than you might think. Keep a fresh supply of batteries in the kit. By the way, candles are dangerous and can lead to many potential safety problems. Always opt for flashlights and battery operated lanterns.
If you have smaller children at home, including some things that will help keep them occupied is also a good idea. Coloring books, crayons, and other craft items will keep their minds off the power outage, which in turn will keep everyone calm and relaxed.
Your monitored home security system comes complete with battery backup for complete peace of mind in a power outage.