One dilemma that sometimes arises on a Girlfriend Getaway is that one of your girlfriends arrives late. Say everyone else arrives at 5pm, and her flight is delayed until 8pm. Do you leave her and go out to dinner anyway?

Time is precious on a weekend trip, and while it may, at first, sound a bit callous, we think everyone should keep their dinner reservation, and here's why:

1) Non-delayed girlfriends will be hungry. Hungry girlfriends=cranky girlfriends. It's unfair to punish the other girlfriends by making them sit around and wait, when the weekend is ticking away, and that table at Charlie Trotter's sits lonely and unoccupied.

2) Delayed flights can be super-delayed, and if all the girlfriends are just sitting around, eating peanuts to curb their hunger, and waiting, waiting, waiting, there is going to be some pent-up resentment toward poor delayed girlfriend, when it wasn't even her fault.

3) It will be no problem at all for your delayed girlfriend to catch up with you, when she does finally arrive. With cell phones and Blackberrys and Treos and helpful hotel concierges', there is little chance of delayed girlfriend being stranded at the hotel with the jar of peanuts.

Plus, by the time stranded girlfriend shows up, everyone will have missed her so much she'll be the most wanted and popular table-mate.

Shotgun on the Master Bedroom!

When you plan a Girlfriend Getaway that involves multiple girls and multiple bedrooms, how do you decide who gets which one? In many rental houses, or condos, there is one Master Bedroom, a few regular bedrooms and then probably a pullout couch in the living room. If everyone is paying the same amount, then, ideally, everyone has an equal right to the Master Bedroom (which usually has an attached bathroom with a great jacuzzi tub).

If there was one main trip-planner, she should get first pick of accommodations. Why? She did all the work. You just sat back and waited for the detailed email telling you what, when, where and how much. Travel planning is a LOT of work, and the planner should have some sort of "reward".

If the trip was planned for you, by someone not on the trip, the only truly fair way to designate room assignments is something like this:

1) Come up with identifying names for each room (Master, Bunk Beds, Punishment Pull-out)

2) Write these names on pieces of paper - if the room accommodates 2 people, make two entries for that room.

3) Put pieces of paper into a hat (or bowl, or whatever else is handy that holds stuff)

4) Have each girl draw a piece of paper (I picked Bunk Beds - I'm on top!)

This may seem unnecessary, and if your group can easily work out the room situation without a big kerfuffle, fantastic.

If not? Try the above.

No one wants to spend a weekend seething with resentment because they got stuck in the sleeping bag on the kitchen floor, next to the leaky dishwasher.

They're hip, they're techy, they're helping keep you connected! But they are horrible dinner-table companions.

When dining out with friends, the Blackberry should be turned off and tucked away (as should your cell phone). There are extenuating circumstances where it is okay to leave the electronics on:

1. if one of your dining companions has not yet arrived at the restaurant, and might need assistance with directions, or
   
2. if you are waiting to hear back from the producers of "Sex & the City" about your walk-on role in the sequel.
   

Should you desperately need to check your email or messages for some reason - excuse yourself from the table, take the electronic device to a quiet area of the restaurant, or outside, check the messages, or play 3 minutes of "Bubble Blaster" or whatever it is you feel necessary, then turn it off and return to the table to enjoy your friends.

Most dinners don't last longer than a few hours, and whatever it is you THINK is so direly in need of attention, probably really isn't.

It is just good manners and good table etiquette to be 100% present with your friends. And if you're not, they'll definitely eat your share of the blackberry ice cream.

This is one of those cherished activities that everyone loves.  Like a dental exam, or a bikini wax.

It can be awkward and uncomfortable and make everyone wonder if "dining and dashing" is really as unethical as it sounds...

Often, when dining with several friends, everyone will order nearly identical meals, and the issue of splitting the bill is a no-brainer.  You just split it evenly.  Those are happy times, indeed.

Then, there are the other times, when there are 8 girls, and 2 are pregnant and not drinking the outrageously expensive wine, and 3 are dieting and eating a small salad as their entree, and so on.  When the bill arrives, the drunk friends want the least amount of hassle, and just say "Letsh shplit the sheck".  Because alcohol makes the world seem like a fair and just place, and everything will all just even out.

But the pregnant girls, and salad girls probably owe a solid $20/each less than everyone else.  Even in our pseudo-recession, $20 can buy a lot!  A cheapie pedicure, a Bobbi Brown eyeshadow, the DVD of "The Pillow Book" (full-frontal Ewan MacGregor; you're welcome), and myriad other necessities.

It's not such a huge deal to divvy up the check by person, but it will take a few extra minutes.

Some people would whine "oh, it's so embarrassing - just split it evenly", but then you have to think:  why are you feeling more loyal to the waiter/waitress (in wanting to save them time) - than your own friends?

It is a bit of a chore to have to do math right after a large meal, and we here at Holiday Golightly, have actually created a fantastic tool to help with this (we will alert you when it's ready).

Until then, just grab a pen, and mark each girls' initials next to whatever items she ordered on the receipt, then run one total for each girl.  The girls who don't eat or drink as much will really appreciate it, and they are your girlfriends after all.

STAY TUNED FOR NEWS OF "DIVVY IT UP" (that's the name of the tool - easy no?).

If you're over the age of BEING IN MIDDLE SCHOOL, you are too old for April Fool's Day jokes.

Um...unless they're really sophisticated, and funny...We only know of the immature ones. 

If you have any good ones, let us know!

Not to be confused with "punctuation".,;"!?  Punctuality is more than just being on time.  It's also about respect.  Whether it's a lunch date, or a business appointment, being on time speaks volumes about how important you think your appointment/date is, versus how important you think you are.

If you are the person who is always late...  Chronically late;  irretrievably, unconscionably, inconceivably late, you need to make Being On Time a priority.

Set your watch ahead 15 minutes if you need to.  Or just leave 15 minutes earlier than you think you need to.  See what happens!  

If you know you won't be able to make the date/appointment/meeting/what-have-you, at least call your counterpart to let them know you won't be on time, so they are not stuck looking at their watch every five minutes, wondering if they got the date, time or place wrong.  They should not be penalized for being on time.  They should, actually, be rewarded!  So, as long as you're running late, stop off and pick up some chocolates for them!

Then, next time, when you're on time, you can get some chocolates for yourself too. 

Okay, I will be the first to say that tipping has gotten a little out of control - at least in the U.S.  A tip jar at Starbucks?  Are they kidding?  And my personal favorite (I'm saying "favorite" with LOTS of sarcasm, which you can't hear) is the tip jar that has something about "Karma" on it.  Oh, I've got your Karma right here.

Photo: iStock 

Just stop already.  Tipping is supposed to be for superior service, and not just for doing your job.  You know, that job that you are already being paid to do.  There are, however, exceptions.

Waitstaff at restaurants make less than minimum wage, and really depend on tips to support themselves.  Then there's your hairdresser, who ultimately can destroy a bit of your self-confidence with one or two chops of the scissors, so you definitely want to tip him/her.

We have enlisted the help of THIS SITE to help us navigate the murky waters of "I say WHO; I say HOW MUCH" (flashbacks to "Pretty Woman", free of charge).  Click the link for information - both U.S. and international.

This seems to be a topic that most frequent travelers understand...but then some do not.  Traveling can be frustrating, particularly if you are in a hurry - trying to catch a tight connection, whatever.  And, unless you own your own private jet, you will have to deal with all the other travelers, who are most-likely trying to catch THEIR tight connections, whatever.

 Photo:  Shawn Cameron

The proper etiquette really just follows simple logic.  When the cabin door is at the front of the plane, you de-plane front-to-back, and vice versa.

You do NOT charge forward, brandishing your carry-on bag as a shield, in an attempt to jump ahead of those in the rows ahead of you.

Honestly.  Are those people 5?

You allow each and every person in the rows ahead of you to scoot out of their row, then file out in an orderly fashion.

Yes, this takes a long time, and yes, it does require exercising your patience.  But it is polite, and we are not reckless animals.

While waiting, you can practice your deep-breathing, and mental grocery-shopping:  gallon of milk, loaf of bread, and a stick of butter. 

Send them.

That is all.