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Mind your manners

Published 10:00 pm Sunday, November 22, 2009

By Jon Bauer, Herald staff

Please and thank you: Thanksgiving can be a good time to introduce children to dinner table etiquette, and the Emily Post Institute has examples of manners appropriate for kids 4 to 7, such as keeping napkins in their laps, chewing with their mouths closed and asking to be excused.

We’ll add some more for those older than 7.

  • Children should be able to sit at the table without being plugged into an iPod.

  • Adults should be discouraged from setting up a series of mirrors between the TV room and dining room so they can watch football.

  • In families of mixed political background, all table discussion involving Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, Nancy Pelosi and Michael Moore is forbidden.

  • Adults can ask for “just a sliver” of pie but are limited to three separate “slivers.”

  • Violation of any of the above rules of etiquette earns dishwashing duty.

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    Did someone say pie? Eager to coax shoppers to relax their grip on their wallets, many malls and stores in Snohomish County will open as early as 10 p.m. on Thanksgiving to get a jump on Black Friday.

    We actually don’t have a problem with those who want to go shopping on Thanksgiving evening. That just leaves all the more room for those of us left behind to stretch out on the couch and enjoy another piece of pie.

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