The Etiquette Essentials

It’s Graduation season and I love it! I grew up in a small Louisiana town and attended the same high school my parents did and the same as my dads parents—fun fact, John Lou was the Homecoming Queen and loved that title until the day she died 👑 She LOVED Neville.

Celebrate the graduates in your life. And, graduates, enjoy these next few weeks. They are some of my fondest memories.

Keep swiping ➡️➡️➡️ for some old school pictures from my Feista 🌮🌯 and the most special handwritten invitation to a luncheon in honor of me and a few girlfriends. And, goodness, Eloise looks like me 💕

Remember, you can’t make old friends 🤗 Those relationships are special! Keep them 🤗

🦃🤗🍽️

Keep it simple with these tips for next week! Dining skills are important but also adding small hospitality tips (kindness) when they are little goes a long way down the road!

Show pictures of friends and family you will see at gatherings. This helps children to recognize family and friends ——you can talk about how you are related or that you went to high school with this person. It’s making a connection for your child and introductions and greetings will go SO much better 🤗

And, allowing children to “see a need” and help solve it is a life skill and this holiday season is a great time to review that 🤗

It’s been a BUSY few weeks at Polished Peyton! Lots of visiting, eating with others, learning new things and celebrating!

I get my love of “eating with others” honestly….. my mom sent me a picture last week of my mom and dad and some of my aunts and uncle grabbing dinner at one of our favorite places in my hometown. For a moment I wished I could just “blink” and be with them. Eating together is about more than food….it’s about the company, the stories, the memories and the laughter.

We learn so much by eating together, meeting friends for dinner, taking our children for ice cream.

People often ask me, “How can I squeeze in manners at my house?” Honestly, “Eat together. Visit. Laugh.”

Yes, use a napkin. Yes, don’t talk with food in your mouth. But, truly, children learn by watching us.

I had the BEST classes these past few weeks….all of these children have been taught so well by their families and I love being able to be that “extra” person to reinforce what they are learning at home and introduce new skills to work on this holiday season.

I’ve been teaching Manners for 25 years and I’ve seen a lot change and I’ve changed a bit in how I teach. The cell phone has impacted all of us. To the point where many young people can not hold a conversation with an adult for very long……..and they must be able to. They must be able to “visit,” to read the room, to make others feel welcome in the meeting.

My best advice to start……Eat together. Put the phones down. Turn off the TV. It can be take out, home cooked, a turkey sandwich…..it does not matter. I promise.

As this teaching year comes to a close (only a few more classes remain) I want to thank everyone for a wonderful year.

Fun fact: This year, my most popular class was Business Etiquette Basics and many of them were virtual….. all ages brushing up on the basics for about an hour.

Watch out for post in early December for classes in January and February and please know I’m always here if you have questions.