‘Twas the month before Christmas and throughout Westlake, thieves were peeking in car windows for goodies to take.

Local law enforcement agencies are warning residents to keep their valuables out of plain sight in their cars, or out of their cars completely if possible.

“This is a particularly bad time of year, and there are so many people who leave their merchandise out in the open and not just at the shopping centers,” Rollingwood Police Chief Dayne Pryor said. “It’s when they get home, people will leave their gifts in their cars… they’ll just go from car to car until they see what they want and it’s very easy.”

The Austin Police Department recently released a list of precautions every holiday shopper should take that include:

• Lock your car and take your keys.

• Park in well-lit areas.

• Don’t leave valuables in plain view.

The release also warns about identity theft and other issues when making online purchases, including buying merchandise from a disreputable site only to later find out that the goods were stolen.

In Rollingwood, Pryor said the worst day for theft tends to be Dec. 26.

“We have this problem every year, not just before Christmas, but after Christmas when people, especially people from out of town, will start loading their cars with all their gifts the night before they leave,” Pryor said. “We have situations where they will go down an entire street and break into every car.”

Pryor said that police officers will be out leaving notes on the windshields of residents who have left something in their car in plain site as a friendly reminder that if they can see it, a thief could too.