Last weekend I was out and about with my family.  I love this time of year with all of the different Holiday Festivities going on, it really helps to make the Holiday Season just that much merry.  I’m not a real fan of in-store Holiday Shopping and tend to do 95% of mine online.  However, what I did notice was the lack of courtesy and manners among people…OMG!  In my opinion it seems to be prevalent during the Holiday Season, which is suppose to be the season of giving, sharing and caring.  So…this my friends is my Holiday Shopping Manners & Etiquette 101 class.

Lesson #1

After attending the Tree Lighting at Atlantic Station where I was in line waiting to get hot chocolate for my niece, in front of me were two ladies with their 4 children, one of the children was playing around and tripped over my son’s stroller–no one was hurt, but here’s the kicker the mother told her daughter to stop, but failed to apologize nor tell her daughter to…talk about an eye opener!  So keep these phrases and words in your vocabulary, they go a long way and those words are “Excuse Me” , “Thank You”, “Yes, please”  “You’re Welcome.”  With the hustle and bustle from store to store it is easy to get frustrated, but that is not an excuse to excuse your manners.

Lesson #2

If you are going to take your children shopping with you remember SWS (Shop With Snacks)! Yes, and bring PLENTY! Most young children don’t really care to go shopping with their parents.  A little snack can go a long way when you can’t stop to get something and most importantly are a life saver when you’re standing in a long line with your child, especially if they are fussy…no need to call unnecessary attention to yourself and a snack will ward off the grumpy individuals in line, who in their head are wishing you would “quiet” your child.

Lesson #3

If you are the annoyed person in line without the child, and secretly wishing “that mother needs to quiet her child”, here’s a tip start singing the twelve days of Christmas and hopefully by the time to you get to “8 Maids a Milking” that child and their mom will most likely be gone or quiet.

Lesson #4

Do not take someone’s parking space. If you see someone with their indicator on and waiting for a car to reverse out of the spot, it is very rude of you to take the spot that the indicating car was waiting for.

Lesson #5

If you see a pedestrian in the crosswalk at the mall, ALLOW them to cross, especially in cases where they have children with them or it’s raining or snowing.  You’re in your nice cozy warm car, taking 30 seconds to allow someone to cross isn’t going to make you extremely late for your next appointment.

Lesson #6

Holding the door open for someone is a wonderful gesture and goes a long way.  And yes ladies you can hold the door open for a man especially if he’s carrying a bunch of bags!  Let’s also remember our “thank you” when someone does this for us.

Lesson #7

Don’t forget to tell your Sales Associate to “have a nice day” or ask them “how are you today?” Chances are they’ve been on their feet for hours and most likely annoyed by annoying customers and it pays to have a nice customer come along who shows some sort of sincerity.

Have any tips to add leave me a comment and I’ll add them :)  Happy Shopping