I will be out of town when this blog actually publishes since Ken and I decided to stay in Reno for the entire Thanksgiving weekend in order to participate in the time honored tradition of spending the day after Thanksgiving with several thousand of our closest friends at the local mall. Neither Ken or I are big on crowds so we usually avoid the mall on Black Friday at all costs, but this year we decided to have lunch, walk around, and take in the atmosphere of the hustle and bustle of holiday shoppers without actually trying to buy any gifts.
While the whole Black Friday scenario is not really my thing, I understand there are fabulous deals to be had for those brave souls who actually get up at the crack of dawn to stand in a long line. Comment below and let me know if you love or hate the whole Black Friday chaos. I will randomly choose one comment to win a $15 Amazon Gift Card.
Random Thoughts and Meaningless Musings 
My kids and I would get up after we had made lists of what we wanted, looked at the ads, compared who had what at the lowest price, then updated the lists. We made a plan, get ready and sleep.
We would plan this day with friends who might meet us or not. My family very seldom would come but that was ok we had a good time then, people would help each other get things into a buggy, not run them over with the buggy.
This was for a lot of us shopping, our Christmas for our family and friends, because we couldn’t afford to get things with the economy.
We had a good time for many years, going to black Friday sales until people started just grabbing things, taking all they could get and just running like fools. We talked last night about who needed what from what store. I am the only one going Friday morning to the bookstore, my oldest is working and my youngest has finals to study and papers due. But we will meet up later for some shopping fun I am sure.
We avoid Black Friday shopping completely. The malls are packed with minimal available parking (add in multiple police warnings to be aware of surroundings because of parking lot theft/muggings), so we will wait. I hand make many gifts and watch for online deals instead. One of our daughters has completely finished her shopping! As a family, our gift will be traveling to visit our son between the Holidays. Our granddaughter is very excited and has a paper chain counting down “sleeps” until she gets to see a daddy again. Visits are rare and treasured.
Aw, how precious. I hope those “sleeps” go fast for her. ❤
Nope, not for me. The few times a friend or relative has convinced me to go out it has not been fun.
I avoid malls and shopping all year round..lol.
Yay. I’m a huge fan of movies and for me Black Friday is the best time to buy them. Actually I went after Thanksgiving last night and I was in and out of the store in 30 minutes. Most of that time was spent looking through the movies, there wasn’t a line at the checkout. Now there have been years that I’ve gone when it started at midnight and I spent more time in line getting in the store and checking out than I did actually shopping. Those years weren’t worth it, that’s why now I go get my movies and go home.
Of course, I can no longer go into crowds, but previously, I loved it! Not for the sales because I rarely bought anything, but for the hustle and bustle that you mention! It is the beginning of the Christmas season and I always enjoyed meeting with my family and friends! I have many JCPenny globes! Always our first stop! Breakfast at Panera bread was always fun too! Hope you enjoy your Black Friday Fun!
When I was younger i did a few black Fridays. I have found that I can usually find a better deal after black Friday. But if I miss something a gift card works in a pinch.
We don’t do the Black Friday thing . People go wild at it . Hope you have a good time out there today and be careful .
No, it is just not my thing. Crowds like that make me claustrophobic and seriously anymore you can get better deals closer to Christmas than fighting all the crazy people on Black Friday or online on Black Friday.
I went to black Friday once at Walmart and I said never again. It was complete chaos!
Never have and never will. I am going to take advantage of some online deals though.
I don’t like to shop and definitely avoid Black Friday shopping completely. The malls are packed with too many people and parking can be a nightmare. I’m not a fan of pushing and shoving, stressful situations, or the chaos I see on the news about Black Friday shopping crowds. I knit and crochet some gifts and sometimes make beaded Christmas ornaments.
Always avoid the crowds when shopping. Black Friday or not. A couple of stores have been caught faking a sale price. Such as Kohl’s. Three times their fake sale prices were shown on TV news, Problem Solvers section because people had complained so they went and checked it out. Kohl’s had a nice wool jacket for $75. Felt it was too much so waited. Then the day came. Coats on sale 25% mark down. So in I went. That wool jacket? The tag said it had been marked down from $90 to $75. So I spoke to the manager. It was; “Gee, Honey. What are you talking about.” Now that we have the internet it is a lot easier to compare prices and get the cheapest. There are some sites that have free shipping depending on the price total. Amazon for instance. On somethings you spend, say $50 you get free shipping. Even do the same for groceries, the canned and dry goods. Places range from $35 for free shipping to $50 for free shipping. And when you count the cost of gas, wear and tear on the car. AND no crowds and standing in line for 15 minutes. I do as my Mom did. I talk with relatives. Find out what’s trending in their lives. Judge the next size the kids will grow into and buy accordingly throughout the year when the items are on sale. And on several occasion prices right after Christmas, when they are closing out that years goods to make way for the new years trends the prices have been comparable and in some cases, lower to Black Friday prices. Black Friday only works for those big items and for those who are willing to wait all night. In my book? Not very sensible. However. Have a friend who love’s Black Friday shopping. The competition and stuff appeals to her and her hubby. Last year. Knowing I was planning on getting new bed pillows, she snagged 4 for me at truly rock bottom prices. Her gift to me. Just to let me know Black Friday isn’t all bad. We both had a good laugh about that.
Geez I wonder how many stores do that fake mark down thing?
It is fun watching the news about crazy people doing crazy things on Black Friday! I have worked in retail for too long to even consider going in there voluntarily. Plus I am not a morning person–so all the deals are gone. I have friends who love it and they are the same ones that go shopping on Christmas Eve. Nay for me!!
Tried Black Friday once. Hated it. Prefer Cyber Monday.
Black Friday is not my thing! I went at midnight once to save $100 on a mixer. It went well and was very interesting, but I will happily hit the stores on other days.
I have been a couple of times but that was enough. I will be spending some time with my sister this morning instead having coffee at a favorite Starbucks. Then home to do chores. Then I will be free for the weekend to shop Small Business Saturday and a library book sale.
When I was younger I loved it. My sister-in-law/best friend and my hubby would take off to the stores way before dawn. Now I’m in my 60s and it’s not been fun for quite a few years so we’ve skipped. Actually, practically all my Christmas shopping is done online with Amazon Prime–so easy!
No more Black Friday lines for me! If I can’t find it online, I don’t need it!
The Black Friday Chaos makes me nuts — especially since it now starts on a Thursday!
Although the idea your staying over to watch the chaos, amuses me, I must confess I’ve never, ever indulged in Black Friday, nor would I ever! 🙂
(Talk about run a on sentence!)
Since I got up at 2am to go to work to stock the shelves for the Black Friday crowd, no, not a fan, LOL. When I was a stay at home mom I never went out on black Friday, I hate crowds, it is not worth it to save a couple bucks, especially when stores usually run the same ad the whole month of December. Nope, I do admit that I stop at Pet Smart after work and get there cat litter that is on sale, that is my big Black Friday buy.
I like to do my Black Friday shopping on the computer! When I was younger I went crazy for the day after Christmas sales!
After looking at all the ads I didn’t see one thing anyone in my family needs or even wanted and that includes the grandkids and myself. I’ve worked retail for 31 years, retired in September and the season now brings out the worst in people. I must admit last year went to local Walmart because of a huge savings on one gift I wanted. Dashed out before dinner was ready, got in line and when I got to the place the item was empty. That was ok and I got to see some crazy shoppers doing things I’d never do. When I went to work on Friday I was telling a co worker about it and she told me her hubby worked in receiving and that lots of the of the items were in back and never were brought out. Stopped in on the way home and there it was sitting on the shelf but no longer on special. Stores control what you buy and seems everyone has the same stuff. I’ll keep buying all year long and hiding it and it’s always a surprise and special.
Hum, interesting. Good to know.
I enjoy the ONLINE Black Friday events, I can do those once our dinner has been completed and folks go home. Going to stores just seems so wrong. I have done it before but watching the way people act, the pushing and shoving, cussing, so many crammed like sardines, it seemed so obsessive. Do I want to push someone over just to get a pair of fleece Pajama pants or socks for 3 bucks? No, I do all of my shopping online now.
I am not a Black Friday shopper actually. First you must have the funds to spend on stuff you probably wouldn’t buy any other time but second I too do not like fighting the crowds. If there is a chance that we can squeeze funds to buy something, it’s usually used to buy either craft items to make someone a gift or to buy something all of the family can use. I hope you enjoyed your day with your spouse and that you succeeded in not buying any Black Friday items.
I considered driving to the another town to go to Walmart and a few other places, but decided not to go. Will wait until the crowd dies down a little.
I don’t go to the stores for Black Friday, but I do shop online for most of the same deals if there is one I really want! It’s much warmer and more comfortable and stress-free to shop in my PJs, with my coffee on hand at my computer! What a way to shop!! 🙂
I hate the whole thing! Fighting crowds of people over an item is just not my cup of tea.
I am not a fan of Black Friday and the crowds. There will be plenty of good sales before Christmas without all the crowds.
I used to work at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, CA for 15 years and had to work Black Friday. I will never go to a mall on Black Friday.
Nay….no way!
Thank you all for commenting. The randomly chosen winner of the $15 gift card is Kimberly Neal. Please email me at kathidaley@kathidaley.com to collect your gift card.