Gifts and Etiquette

From the Introduction

The Top Ten Social Faux Pas (and a taste of the topics covered in this book)

1. Forgetting to R.S.V.P. to an invitation.
2. Teaching your children that it's fine to call adults by their first names.
3. Omitting writing thank-you notes after you receive a gift.
4. Talking about inappropriate topics when you or someone else you know is pregnant, such as conception details or birth horror stories.
5. Deciding that disciplining misbehaving children isn't a priority.
6. Partaking of public displays of affection when everyone is thinking, "Get a room."
7. E-mailing incessantly at home and at work, including forwarding urban legends and insipid jokes, or working on your Blackberry when you're in a social situation.
8. Forgetting that cars are made for driving, not chitchatting on your cell phone, applying makeup or eating a meal.
9. Traveling to a foreign country and expecting everyone there to embrace the traveler's American-ness.
10. Letting your pets run amuck in the neighborhood, including walking them off leash when you know darn well your town has a leash law.

(To read the rest of the book, you can buy a copy by clicking on the cover at right.)