The holidays are upon us and it’s time to start thinking about shopping for your friends and family. Shopping can be time consuming at the best of times, but when you’re busy working and planning holiday trips, finding the time to shop along the way can be a challenge.

To make things easier, consider these shopping tips to make it a more joyful experience.

Shopping Tips

• Do as much shopping as you can as early as you can.
• If presents need to be mailed, get those to the post office early so they’ll arrive in time.
• If shopping time is limited, purchase some stockings, goodies and snacks, and assorted gift cards and create a holiday “stocking gift” for everyone on your list. Fill with holiday candy, gourmet tea and coffee, specialty cheeses, candy canes, and any other treat along with a select gift card.
• If you’re heading to a family or friend’s home for the holidays, stop along the way at interesting out of the way specialty or antique shops and general stores and pick up a unique gift like handcrafted candles, homemade preserves, or a vintage lantern.

Suggested Gifts Car Enthusiasts

• Car accessories are always welcome for any auto enthusiast. Purchase new premium floor mats, over the seat organizers, console organizers, or phone/GPS holders.
• Put together an emergency kit. It’s a gift that could come in handy if your loved one is ever in a bind while traveling and shows that you care about their well being. Include items like a flashlight, reflective emergency cones, a basic tool kit, and other useful items.
• Help pay for upgrades or services. Whether they want a new car stereo system, new wheels, or need some brake service done, getting someone’s car up to code is a great gift idea.
• Take them to Johnson Bros. Ford to test drive a new or used vehicle. If you’ve got someone really special on your list that deserves a new ride, give them a spin in a Ford or Lincoln and get them into a fresh set of wheels.

Visit Johnson Bros. Ford

Stop by Johnson Bros. Ford to test drive a new vehicle for the holidays. Be sure to ask your salesperson about any lease or finance specials we might be running on your favorite Ford or Lincoln model.

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Whether you just picked up a new vehicle from Johnson Bros. Ford or you are driving something that is a couple years old, it’s a good idea to change your driving habits to help save money on gas. These tips will help save gas whether you are driving something that gets excellent gas mileage or you drive something that gets in the teens and low 20s for gas mileage.

Braking

When you need to brake, brake sooner rather than later. If a light is going to change, you may not have to come to a complete stop. Accelerating from any speed saves gas over accelerating from a complete stop. The same theory applies when you are in traffic. If you are far enough behind traffic and start slowing down, you may not have to come to a complete stop, depending on how slow traffic is moving.

Keeping Your Distance

If you keep your distance behind people, you’ll brake less. On the highway, keep a steady speed as much as possible. Use the cruise control where you can to maintain a steady speed. If traffic slows and it’s possible to get into another lane that is moving at least the same speed you are, switch lanes. You can move back into your original lane once you pass the slow-moving vehicles.

Use Store Cards

Some stores offer a few cents off per gallon if you use the store’s card. There is one catch to this: Interest. However, if you pay off your gas purchases each month, you won’t get charged interest on those purchases and you’ll be able to realize the savings by using the store card. If you pay your store card balance online, simply pay the amount you pumped on the same day.

Visit Johnson Bros. Ford

Stop by Johnson Bros. Ford today to test drive a new vehicle. And, now that you have a few tips for saving gas, look at vehicles for their safety and convenience features instead of which ones get the best gas mileage.

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When you test drive a vehicle from Johnson Bros. Ford and you have children, be sure the vehicle has child safety built into it, such as rear door child locks and the LATCH system for child seats. These items will make your job of keeping your child safe in the vehicle easier. Because it’s Child Passenger Safety Week next week, we’d like to share some important safety reminders.

Car Seats

You need certain types of car seats for your children based on their ages; and the seats need to be installed properly, whether they are a combination seat that works for newborns through the booster seat stage, a rear-facing seat, a front-facing seat or a booster seat. Since different brands may hook up differently, be sure to read the installation instructions carefully for each seat you use.

When you use the vehicle’s seat belt, it should fit across the child’s shoulder, not his or her neck; and the lap portion of the belt should lie across the child’s thighs.

Remembering Your Child

Though no one thinks they could possibly forget their child in the car, it can happen to anyone. To avoid this, place a reminder in the front with you, such as one of your child’s toys. An even better reminder is to put your purse or any other item that you have to take with you in the back seat so that you have to open the back to get what you need. This way, you will see your child and will be less apt to forget the child in the vehicle.

Door Locks and Window Locks

Just like you have to child proof your house, your vehicle needs to be child proofed. Be sure to lock the child locks on the rear doors. If your vehicle has window locks, use the window locks so that your child can’t roll the window all the way down.

Visit Johnson Bros. Ford

Stop by Johnson Bros. Ford to test drive a new vehicle and to learn more about that vehicle’s features including child safety features.

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Preparing to go back to school can be stressful. Make that first day of school as stress-free as possible by following these simple preparation tips.

When it’s time to go back to school, you’ll have a lot of shopping to do. The kids need school clothes, books, notebooks, pencils, pens, new crayons, a computer or tablet depending on age and backpacks and lunch boxes. And, you may need a new car, especially if the kids have outgrown your old sedan. Stop by Johnson Bros. Ford to test drive a larger sedan or SUV so you have more room for bigger kids.

It’s easy to forget something during school shopping, especially if you have two or more kids. Some schools require some type of uniform, whether it’s an actual uniform or a requirement that students wear a certain color or type of pants and shirt. Creating a list with the help of your children, especially if they are older, will make your shopping experience less stressful.

For clothing and shoes, make a list for each child. Don’t forget the school’s requirements for color and style, gym clothes, a bathing suit if the school has a pool and any special clothing for extra curricular activities.

While some schools provide paper, writing utensils and other items needed, many schools now require that students provide their own, even at elementary level. If you do have to buy these things for grade school students, be sure to have notebooks, plain paper, writing paper with larger lines for the early grades, crayons, pens, pencils, a stapler, glue, a pencil bag, lunchbox and book bag for your grade school student.

Older children will need notebooks, pens, pencils, a book bag, a small lunch cooler and possibly a computer or tablet. Older children may need a notebook for each subject.

Visit Johnson Bros. Ford

Be sure to plan a stop at Johnson Bros. Ford to test drive a new vehicle or give us a call to set up a service appointment if you are going to keep your current vehicle. Ask your service adviser to do a complete safety check on your vehicle when you bring it in for maintenance.

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