So, who has already been shopping today?
Not me!
While I love a good bargain, I do not so much love bargain hunting. And that includes standing in long lines, dealing with crowds, and waking up in the wee hours of the morning for shopping. So today, I will be sleeping in. I admit, later in the afternoon, I may hit up the local shops in my neighborhood, see what the bargain hunters have left for the rest of us, plus it’s just a nice lazy way to spend an afternoon.
Last year, I spent Thanksgiving with a friend and her family, and part of their holiday tradition includes going shopping at midnight, then going shopping again around 6 am. It was rough. Fun, but rough. We went for the adventure of it more than anything else, and I admit, I did find a few bargains, including some dishes at the Williams-Sonoma outlet that I use all the time and a sweater that I absolutely love. Were these great bargains worth the exhaustion? Probably not. It was fun for a one time thing, but it won’t be happening again this year (of course, I’m also doing Thanksgiving with a different group this year).
I don’t know how I feel about the bargain hunting trend. On one hand, saving money is awesome! But on the other hand, is there anything that I need so badly that I need to camp out the night before in order to get the best deal? I know for a lot of people, bargain hunting and Black Friday shopping is an adventure. I have one friend who goes purely to laugh at the ridiculousness of it all.
I understand the idea of getting the most for your money, and I totally get that parents are often working to make Christmas as great as possible for their children, but I sometimes wonder what sort of a lesson that teaches.
Either way, whatever you choose, enjoy your day after Thanksgiving. And if you do go shopping and find a great bargain, be sure to let everyone know!
I set my alarm for 6 this morning, so I could get to the grocery store for their early bird specials. We actually got out of the house by 7:30 – me and Son to grocery, and Hubby to car repair place. I passed by a Wal-Mart, K-Mart and various other stores, all of which were jammed packed. I did that Black Friday shopping when I was young, but not any more. I could barely tolerate the crowd at the grocery! (But I got great Thanksgiving meal ingredients for great prices.)
Like your blog, by the way. We are a family of 3, working very hard to not overspend. That’s why, when Wal-Mart put sweet potatoes on sale on Monday for 38 cents a pound, we bought enough to last the Winter (stored in cool place properly). We are definitely penny pinchers.
Vikki http://www.thorntonwilliamsfamily.blogspot.com
Hey, like your blog…. Did you see the Wal Mart employee that got killed by the ‘bargain hunters’ this morning??
Black Friday’s are disasters…
Have a great day,
CG Salgado
My better half left the house at 2am to get my computer at Best Buy. It’s a fantastic deal and he doesn’t mind waiting in the cold (especially since it wasn’t as cold this year as it was last year) and loves scoring a great electronics deal.
It’s his day of reverting to hunter/gatherer or something. Whatever it is he’s wired all day and gets all macho. It’s hilarious.
I didn’t do the Black Friday thing. There was nothing we really need anyway. Besides, 4 am in the morning is only good for sleeping, not shopping.
I will be there, probably the night before sleeping outside stores…if the deals are right! I signed up and am awaiting my email ads from my favorite stores (you can sign up on BlackFriday.info to get the ads you want early)….once I get those I’ll draw up my game plan.
JennyDecki – that’s hilarious about your husband, and awesome for you!!