Champagne and sparkling wines are often a natural choice for festive occasions. A flying champagne cork behaves like a small, guided missile and is a potentially- blinding weapon.

Here are some tips on how to avoid a celebration turn into a tragedy.

• To prevent eye injuries, make sure you open your champagne or sparkling wine properly
• Keep the bottle cold; warm bottles can "pop" unexpectedly
• Carefully remove foil and wire hood while applying pressure on cork
• Place a towel over the entire top and tilt bottle at a 45-degree angle away from yourself and others
• Slowly twist cork to break the seal
• Keeping the bottle at a 45-degree angle, slowly turn the cork upward until it is nearly out of the bottle
• Using the slight downward pressure of a controlled "roll," the cork will come completely out with a softened pop
• Remember, never point the champagne cork at anyone’s face, including your own!