Christmas is right around the corner, and it can be one of the busiest — and most stressful — season for holiday shopping. Sometimes, for us ladies, that can be a daunting task and, while navigating crowded stores, managing energetic children and keeping track of our belongings, the overwhelm can even be dangerous. Shopping safety tips are key to combating criminals who look at the Christmas season as the most opportune time of the year. Holiday shopping safety and situational awareness are more important than ever. Situational awareness is the currency that buys us time. Time and distance give us options.

The only guaranteed way to survive a dangerous threat unscathed is to avoid conflict altogether. How do we maintain awareness while we engage with and manage our children, navigate aggressive Christmas shoppers, and hunt down those special gifts? Here are three steps.

Minimize Distractions While Holiday Shopping

One of the best holiday shopping safety tips is to limit distractions. Put those phones away and go old school with a paper shopping list that can easily be taken in and out of a pocket. Phones can be a major distraction and make us inattentive to our surroundings. Isn’t that why kids act up the minute they see us on the phone? Texts and calls can be returned once home and safely tucked into privacy.

Teach your children there are clear behavioral expectations when shopping (enter hysterical laughing here along with an eye roll and snort). Children can be unpredictable feral little creatures full of curiosity and spunk!

On a serious note, giving children their own “job” when shopping can really help keep them on task and meet the expectations you set without directly giving them “commands.”

  • Example for little kids: “Here is your own pen and paper. Keep an eye out for all items with Santa on them and make a tally mark for each one you see. Whoever sees the most items with Santa on them wins a chocolate bar!” (I have found that purchasing a clipboard for each child works great! Especially the ones that have the option to store paper and a pen inside.)
  • Example for older kids: Share the responsibility of shopping safety and remaining situationally aware of nonverbal clues. Ask them to pay attention for people who may be following you from aisle to aisle or seem to be nervously watching you as you shop, trying to get close, eyeing your purse and so on. If they carry their own money, remind them to keep wallets and purses close to their body.

Keep conversations with those you meet friendly but brief. There is always time to catch up later! Many purses are stolen when we turn our backs, even just for a second. Being engaged in conversation is more than enough time for a thief to seize an opportunity. Remember, the bad guy or gal is constantly taking in information and looking for the perfect opportunity. You should be taking in and processing information too.

Present Yourself as Bold, Confident and Strong While Christmas Shopping

Strong posture and eye contact make a big difference in Christmas shopping safety. Keep your head up. Staying alert and looking around is one of the simplest but most effective holiday shopping safety tips you can practice. To shop safely, take in your surroundings and those around you. There is a difference between a nervous glance and actual intake of information.

Make eye contact and greet those you pass. This allows you to gauge people around you and lets them know you are not timid and are aware of their presence. It can also help identify or describe others to authorities if there were an issue.

Many criminals choose NOT to victimize someone simply because their target made eye contact with them.

Be Prepared With Shopping Safety Skills

Holiday shopping can be chaotic. Mental preparation gives you an edge. “Your body cannot go where your mind has not been.” While I did not coin this phrase, it is used in training from firearms to physical combatives courses.

  • Prep yourself for what could happen so you can mentally prepare should it happen.
  • Know your rights in a use of force/deadly force incident.
  • Always know where the exits and entrances are.
  • Be aware of your surroundings and what could be used for cover and/or concealment, as well as what could be an obstacle for you to navigate. Use your surroundings as tools to create and maintain space between you and the threat to give yourself the time and distance needed to draw a weapon, attract attention from passersby, get to safety, etc. It takes longer to go around or over an obstacle than come at you head-on with nothing in between.

Carry some sort of defensive tool and know

  • how it works
  • why it works
  • why it might not work
  • how to fix it should it not work

Be prepared to give loud and clear verbal commands relative to the situation. Should someone engage with you in a threatening way or in a manner that crosses a boundary, BE LOUD. Draw attention to the situation from everyone around you with commands like…

  • “Stop! Leave me alone!”
  • “Don’t come any closer!”
  • “I said NO!”
  • “BACK UP!”

Be prepared to act. This requires some mindset training. You need to know:

  • Your physical capabilities under pressure
  • What your level of training allows you to do while combating the physiological impacts of adrenaline, your emotional response to a threat and your mental preparedness for fighting back
  • Tools at your disposal to use for defense (family-sized cans of chicken noodle soup pack a big punch)
  • What you are willing to do to survive and protect your loved ones

Safety in Numbers

The bonus to being inside a store is there are a ton of other people around who can help you. But the downside can also be there are a ton of other people around … and you have no idea who those people are or what their intentions are. Criminals know they can disappear quickly in a crowd. They also know if their target is bold, it’s easy to get caught. Presentation of self is important.

Your ability to take in information, process that information and formulate a plan should something go wrong is your superpower and can ensure shopping safety! The ability to remain fluid in this requires mastering these behaviors and actions through consistent practice.

“Muscle memory” is simply building neural pathways in our brains and then hardening those pathways through thousands of repetitions so that we can handle multiple basics on a subconscious level so that our conscious minds are free to take in and process information so we retain the ability to make split second decisions based on the totality of circumstances. Chances are your subconscious has already acted and you’re in the clear before your conscious mind has had a chance to realize what’s happened, especially if you’ve followed these shopping safety tips. We want to avoid reacting at all costs when facing a threat.

Additional Holiday Shopping Safety Tips

  • Stay aware of who is around you in crowded stores.
  • Take in information quickly and trust your instincts about suspicious behavior.
  • Use your surroundings as tools to create distance and options if something feels off.
  • Even with crowds, criminals rely on distraction — your alert posture reduces opportunity.

Bringing Confidence and Calm to Christmas Shopping

The holidays should be joyful, not stressful. With a few simple holiday shopping safety habits — minimizing distractions, showing confidence and preparing mentally — you can shop with peace of mind. Christmas shopping may be hectic, but staying alert helps ensure you and your family get home safely, gifts and all.