With a Valentine’s Day themed Sadies Dance looming on the horizon, stress levels tend to run high. If you’re nervous about the upcoming dance, take comfort in these guidelines to guarantee that your night runs smoothly.

DON’T: Go to the Wrong House When You’re Asking Your Date

Seems so obvious right? Wrong. Based on personal experience, sometimes the neighbor’s car looks exactly like your date’s car sitting in the driveway and that’s okay. It’s really not your fault. Learn from this mortifying mistake and always remember to double-check the house number so that you don’t end up asking an eighty year old woman to the dance.

DO: Prepare Your Moves

Make sure you have a 3-5 minute dance routine choreographed in advance with your #squad to a popular song. Everyone at the dance will be ready to show their moves. If you don’t have a dance prepared it will be pretty embarrassing. It is scientifically proven that dancing skills are directly correlated to one’s level of popularity, so Sadies night could make or break the rest of your high school career.

*Brownie points are rewarded to anyone who performs the Dirty Dancing routine flawlessly.

DO: Bring a Coat

Sometimes during winter dances people seem to forget that we live in the coldest state on the face of the earth. I’m sure your dress is very cute but you know what isn’t cute? Frostbite.  Think of it this way, when you wear a coat your outfit is a surprise and everyone gets really excited for the big reveal so they can compliment each other ASAP.

DON’T: Mess Up the Cupid Shuffle

Don’t be the person who runs in to everyone. Seriously just go to the right four times, the left four times, kick four times, walk it by yourself and then repeat. If you can’t remember that, a man by the name of Cupid literally says those exact words to make it easier for you.

DO: Ask Someone That You Want to Go With

While this may seem like a very simple concept, it is not always so straight-forward. Sure, having a date is fun, but so is going alone or with a group of friends. No one is forcing you to go with that person who you have made eye contact with once in your life. After all, talking about how much homework you have and what classes you’re in can only entertain someone for an hour (max).

DON’T: Overthink Dinner and Pictures

Hopefully there is group of high schoolers out there who have their lives together and can wake up every morning feeling ~drama free~ Maybe this is you. Go you! I’m so happy for you! However, if you’re a mortal teenager like the rest of us remember that a school dance is one night of your life. You can be in the same dinner group as your ex-best friend who borrowed one of your scrunchies freshman year and never gave it back. She just forgot about it, it’s time to move on. Also, when it comes to a location, you probably won’t remember where you ate a year from now, so do what makes sense. Don’t start a fight because you can’t agree where to sit for an hour and a half.

DO: Arrive to the Dance on Time

It’s even better if you get there about 20 minutes before it’s supposed to start. There’s no such thing as being “fashionably late” in the world of Holy Family dances. The teachers really love using the extra hands to finish setting up the dance, and you don’t miss anyone’s dresses if you sit by the entrance the entire night. Who knows, maybe you can throw in a few song suggestions for that dance-off mentioned earlier.

DON’T: Wear Uncomfortable Shoes

There’s nothing worse than wearing a pair of shoes that are too small, or just simply uncomfortable. Honestly are a pair of 6-inch heels really worth the blisters that will hurt for the next week? In some cases it is up for debate because shoes can really make it or break it, but remember the whole purpose of the night is to DANCE, not trip (even though most of us forget that).

DEFINITELY DO: Bring Your Dog

This is probably frowned upon but it would be awesome. No cats.

DON’T: Limit Yourself to One Instagram Post

Life is way too short to only post one picture instead of spamming your social media fanbase with various poses. It’s nerve-wracking to even IMAGINE what would happen if there was only one post per person, or worse, if someone doesn’t post at all. Instead, go all out with a slideshow, pic-collage, or a flipagram accompanied with your favorite song. This guarantees the maximum amount of likes and gives your grandma more chances to comment about how adorable you look.