Tag Archives: Black Friday

Nov25

I did go shopping today….

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…and I am very tired. We didn’t get up until 5:20, so it wasn’t as bad as I feared, but it was plenty early. My mom and aunt went to Target at midnight last night, but the line was so long they turned around and came back without even going in. They did watch the line for a bit, thinking they would get out of the car when they could walk in out of the cold quickly, but after half an hour the line wasn’t inside yet, so they gave up. And after that, my mom got what she wanted anyway–we went to a different Target at noon today, and they had put the item on a shelf in a weird spot, so they had a lot left despite the amazing deal (I can’t say what it is, because my kids read here sometimes…). Also, we started out at Kmart, but left without buying anything because the lines were insane. We just didn’t have the energy to wait in line for 30 – 45 minutes. Those were the only long lines we saw, though–everywhere else we went, we were no more than third in any line.

I didn’t spend as much as I have some years. I think I need new brake pads for my car, and I know I need to suck it up and go to the dentist already–I have a highly prominent broken tooth I have been avoiding getting fixed because I *really* hate the dentist, and also I am terrified about the cost. My dental insurance is changing, though, so that I will not have a limit for what they cover in the PPO if you go to an in-network dentist, so I am hoping that will help to cover a larger part of the work I need done. It may not actually give me more courage, but at least it removes one obstacle. Now, if I could just get rod of the need to buy Christmas presents and fix my car and eat every day, I’d be good on the rest.

As for what I bought, a significant part of it was craft supplies for the kids’ crafting party, along with a few decorations for outside my house. I got a wreath, a door hanger for the wreath and a few oversize ornaments for the tree in my front yard. I have some outdoor lights around here somewhere, too, so I may try to get those hung tomorrow. The craft supplies were fun to get. We now have craft sticks and pipe cleaners, lots of different buttons and some ribbon, magnets and fabric mesh and even some sparkly glitter glue. When I showed my son the supplies, he said, “Oh, I love glitter glue!” I said, “Doesn’t everyone?”

I also did a lot more cross-stitching today, finishing my first color, and getting nearly halfway through a second, but I don’t have a picture and I am too tired to take one now, so that will have to wait for another time. Good night, all! I hope your Black Friday experiences were peaceful and enjoyable, whether out shopping or at home.

Nov23

The Problem with Black Friday

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Despite not being a huge shopper, and preferring local shops and handmade gifts to big box stores, I like going out on Black Friday. This is mostly for the time with my mom and aunt, although I often buy a few things that we need with the discounted products and even a few gifts. But this year, a lot of the fun seems to have gone out of the whole thing.Why, you ask? This thing where it starts the night before. Even though I like my sleep, there is something fun about getting up at a ridiculously early hour and going out to wait in the cold with a cup of coffee and a bunch of other early shoppers. I don’t mean the people who camp out–I can’t think of any deal that is worth that much of my time–I mean the people who get up at 4 AM and head out to get some serious shopping done. I have heard about people fighting over deals, but in my experience, there is usually some camaraderie among shoppers. But staying up all night? That’s just crazy. And if the deals are out there the night before, what is the point of getting up so early?

Plus, I hate that people have to work those times. I was listening to the Diane Rehm show today, and Ellen Davis, the Vice President of the National Retail Association insisted that the workers don’t mind, they like that they can work over night and then spend the next day with their families. What planet is she living on? Who wants to do Thanksgiving with family, then stay up all night, then do anything but sleep? When we live in a culture where people are fired for having bad attitudes, and a bad attitude roughly translates to complaining about anything at all, what else do you expect employees to say? “ Hey, how do you feel about working at midnight? And before you answer, don’t forget that there lots of unemployed people who would take your job in a heartbeat.” “I love the idea of coming in to work on Thanskgiving night!”

I guess I will still go, but probably not at midnight. Frankly, though, it is turning me off of the whole event. Even my mom and aunt are less excited than they have been in the past. I think reltailer’s may find this isn’t as good an idea as they thought. I know if we were to go at midnight, we would hit one place, and then we might not go the next morning. Usually, we go to 4 or 5 stores by lunch time! We’ll see what happens when we look over the ads.