By MARGO HORNER

The Mirror

There’s still time to complete Christmas shopping before the holiday, but not much.

With three shopping days left, local malls and other retailers are bound to be packed with shoppers stocking up on last-minute gifts.

With all the chaos at the mall, it’s important to remember to keep your vehicle and your children safe, said Gary Martindale, spokesman for The Commons in Federal Way.

The best way to keep your vehicle safe from prowlers is to lock the doors and keep packages and valuables out of sight, Martindale said.

“Don’t leave anything exposed that people are going to walk by and see,” he said.

So far this holiday season, there hasn’t been a drastic increase of car prowling incidents at The Commons, Martindale said. Extra security and police patrols around the mall are checking for suspicious people and vehicles that might tempt a prowler. They are also working to educate shoppers.

“If they see folks that are leaving packages and things exposed in their cars, they’ll tell them they need to put them in their trunk and secure them there,” Martindale said.

In addition to keeping vehicles safe, it is important to keep children safe while shopping at the mall as well. Children rarely get lost at The Commons, Martindale said, but sometimes they get misplaced.

“We’ve always found them usually within a minute or two,” he said.

If a parent is separated from a child, they can go into any store and ask an employee to call security.

Security and onsite Federal Way Police officers will immediately begin a search. Most often, the child is very close by, Martindale said.

The Commons mall will be open for holiday shopping before Christmas from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Monday.