Years ago when my kids were little and there was no Internet and Black Friday was the shopping extravaganza of the entire year --
I was a Black Friday shopper.
My older sister and I would read the ads at my parents' house after Thanksgiving dinner and plan our strategy for the following day. Our children are the same age and we usually ended up looking for similar items and deals:
Teddy Ruxpin, Thundercat Action Figures, Ninja Turtles, Pogs, Legos, Lincoln Logs, Gameboy, NFL Logo satin jackets -- if you didn't manage to find it on Black Friday, you were shit-out-of-luck that Christmas.
So it was rather quite thrilling when you were one of the lucky ones to score a doorbuster special. We'd brag and gloat about our conquests to anyone and everyone that would listen -- up to and including Christmas Day.
How times have changed.
Black Friday has evolved into Gray Thursday and Cyber Monday is now Cyber Sunday.
Actually, I think the whole holiday buying frenzy begins about two weeks before Halloween, as much as I try not to notice.
Browsing for Halloween candy while listening to Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer in the background has become an acceptable part of the total holiday advertising experience.
That's progress.
When Black Friday Comes --
this year, I'll be at home, as I have been for the past few years, enjoying a quiet day on the farm.
With no small children or grandchildren to shop for, that's usually what it entails for me.
Yet I realize I'm likely in the minority. Making the holidays special for the little ones is still important and finding a great bargain is as crucial today as it was in my early Mommy years.
Perhaps more so.
When Black Friday Comes -- where will you be?
Has your holiday shopping experience changed over the years?
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It is now very tough to be with and without the internet !
ReplyDeleteThere is no Black Friday in Canada, although retailers have started to play it up here the last few years, it's nothing compared to what happens south of the border. If I was really tempted I could join my co-workers in a midnight madness frenzy over in Buffalo but that's not really my thing. I'd rather dig myself a hole and lay down in it til I satisfy my soul. : )
ReplyDeleteHope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Black Friday? I'll be at the fabric store!
ReplyDeleteHope your Thanksgiving was marvelous.
Never have been pressured by Black Friday and Cyper Monday . . . or Sunday! I listen to the hype . . . lift the pounds of advertising from the newspaper to place in the recycler . . . and ignore.
ReplyDelete(My daughter phoned last night and asked me if I wanted to go with her at midnight to pick up her new phone which was being held for her. Not, no, nadda . . . )
(Confession . . . I might like to sit in a car and see the tents set up outside the week before and then watch the throngs of people rushing into Best Buy . . .)
Like you I am spending a quiet morning ~ no Black Friday for me ever ~ in the past or now ~ Simplifying the holidays is still one of my 'in progress' goals ~ enjoy my family and not things ~ wishing you the best in the weekend ~ (A Creative Harbor) ^_^
ReplyDeleteI wish I knew about Black Friday and Cyber Monday while in the USA. I like a good deal and I can't believe I had no idea they existed back then. :) But I must also admit I rarely shop online, I do it only for books, nothing else.
ReplyDeleteHave a lovely weekend ahead.
i braved black friday once, a couple of years ago and that was because ashlyn wanted to go and we thought it would be a fun outing for us. we got to the mall about 5 or 6 in the morning and i only had one thing on my list to get, an xbox and it wasn't that big of deal. i can't imagine going to walmart or target or toys r us though at midnight or camping out like so many, just to MAYBE be fortunate enough to get that one thing...too stressful for me, i do most of my shopping online :)
ReplyDeleteI'm not a shopper, so I'll be at home!
ReplyDeleteI love your header shot - beautifully done!
Donna
Blue Monday, black Friday, I wonder whether I shall know the color of the rest of the days,
ReplyDeleteIt dont give me a thrill even if it was black Friday in Canada.
ReplyDeleteI see more pushing from others and Lord knows if one should fall going in. People would trample over you.
Sorry that is my opinion.
Your picture is beautiful. Black and white.
Black Friday has crept across the border and major retailers here in Canada are using it as a gimmick. Boxing Day has always been the big shopping day here and even that is getting more ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteNope, I have slept through the craziness and today I am dreading the fact that I have to go to the grocery store for food. I may bypass WW and (egads) go to a real grocery store just to escape the madness.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely no shopping for me today. We have no young ones to buy for either and I think our refrigerator last week will be a big part of our Christmas:-/
ReplyDeleteI have done the black Friday thing when the need arose and my lists were long. I hated it. I managed to be sick for most of the holiday and stupidly blamed the fungus or whatever on the Christmas tree. Never gave a thought to all the colds and viruses that I would expose myself to whilst shopping for the 'Yak-Back's or toy dump trucks.
ReplyDeleteNow I have no lists or needs. I stay at home with my computer and my pets. It's pleasant not to be subjected to that insanity any longer. I have already become tired of the commercialism of the 'Holidays' and record anything I watch on the TV so I can FFD through the commercials touting the wonderful 'sales'.
Longing for January 2nd.
I'm in that in between stage too~adult child and no grandkids, so I will be home on the farm all day. I much prefer the open spaces to the crowds.
ReplyDeleteFirst time in forever that I will not be among the crazies at the mall. My sleep was restless last night - but I am sure that with practice, I will over come the need to shop at midnight on Thanksgiving or at 4 a.m. the next morning.
ReplyDeleteChristmas has always been over-run with commercials and buying but I can remember when it was a heck of a lot better than it is now. Now it is slowly disappearing and Thanksgiving? I was amazed that they are calling it Black Thursday now. Awful.
ReplyDeleteas usual, i'm hiding from society here at run*a*round. :)
ReplyDeleteOh, I will be avoiding Black Friday shoppers like the plague. We will write checks for Christmas and buy a few special gifts, but that's the extent of it. I like to focus on my beliefs and decorating the house.
ReplyDeleteWe are staying home, although our son has to work. I'm blogging and doing some research on my family's ancestry. Oh, and I'm enjoying the birds outside our front window!
ReplyDeleteWe dont have Black Friday here, but even if we did, I would not be joining in!
ReplyDeleteAfter work, I will be hanging out with hubby and the dogs...my idea of heaven. :)
Have a great weekend!!!
I am hoping to get our 'Gray Thursday'photos off his cell phone and onto my blog....neither one of us has ever participated in Black Friday....but my SIL...is Black Friday addicted....so during Thanksgiving dinner she showed us the ads and there were three items on our Christmas lists that were incredibly priced...and we were sucked in. It actually was a very fun experience until there was a lady who got terribly mad at me because I wasn't moving fast enough for her. Anyway, we did save over $500 and we survived!! Will I do it again next year?? Never...but as my mom says...never say never :) I love when you write these 'journal' posts...you are such a great writer.
ReplyDeleteI recently took on a job a few days a week at a collectibles store, so that is where I'll be. :) I never was much of a black friday shopper.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your quiet day! :)
I had thought of going out to watch the crowds for laughs.I stayed away, but had fun watching those going plot strategies at work yesterday.I went out one year, but it is too early to start shopping for me for gifts.
ReplyDeleteI do my shopping in my own time and almost never go to the malls and such this time of year. Can't stand the crowds anymore. Who need them when you can shop at home alone? I used to like it but not anymore.
ReplyDeleteTime really has changed! I used to work at Best Buy in college and got Black Friday all out of my system. It was crazy town.
ReplyDeleteToday I'm stuck at work, but even if I was off I wouldn't be shopping!
I'm with you...staying at home, quietly, no black friday shopping for me, in fact, I never did shopping on black friday...I don't even know if there was such a thing when my kids were little. Most things didn't go on sale until after Christmas when my kids were little.
ReplyDeleteI worked in retail here in Canada retired now and never had a Black Friday but I hear it is creeping here now . Christmas time was chaotic enough in retail I cant imagine working a Black Friday as well ! Have a good day !
ReplyDeleteI've never been a Black Friday shopper - and now, thank goodness for the Internet - I rarely go out shopping at all. I'll be relaxing in Vermont, breathing in the mountain air, and recuperating from too much turkey and pie.
ReplyDeleteShopping in crowds makes me claustrophobic. I used to avoid WalMart during the holiday season, but since I moved from the city to a rural area, I have to go to WalMart all the time. Ugh!
ReplyDeleteWell, I was at the pediatrician. Cort had a tick bite that looked suspicious, but they decided they think it's an allergic reaction, but to keep watching it. Then we took a short hike and played on the playground a while. It's a pretty day out, but tomorrow will be rainy and cold. No shopping for us!
ReplyDeleteI've just been to the grocery to get some fresh ginger and except for a trip to the drugstore to get a prescription it's a no in-person shopping day. Thinking of buying some magazine subscriptions for gifts and will do those later cozily at home.
ReplyDeleteYep....I did black Friday...but its my last one! Went to walmart 1/2 hr after it openend and everything I went after was sold out...that quick
ReplyDeleteIts not worth it to me...I only have two small grands and the rest are teens n older...so gift cards are the name of the game this year!!! Enjoy your Holidays!
I've only 'done' Black Friday twice, and both times I swore, never again! I do most of my shopping online these days...
ReplyDeleteI did thrift shop BF and I shop local (just to be obstinant)
ReplyDeletethriftshopcommando.blogspot.com
I guess I am the only one who braved the night and day and got caught up in the frenzy. I enjoy watching a good fight or two for things that these people probably don't even really need. I did get a few good bargains. Mostly movies to enjoy over the weekend.
ReplyDeleteI went to work and took my students bowling (soo much fun). My husband went hunting.
ReplyDeleteBlack Friday has come and gone and I didn't partake in the activity. I hate shopping on a good day!
ReplyDeleteHope you had an Happy Thanksgiving day
ReplyDeleteXoxo
BShell
We have Blue Cross day here in the UK
ReplyDeletegoods are half price.
Hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving.
Best Wishes
Sheila
x
I like to do my decorating. I can't stand the crowds.
ReplyDeleteStayed in all day... My DIL changed her mind about going was relived... I'm not a shopper.. Never have done the Black Friday thing
ReplyDeleteI know some folks go through the whole ritual and believe they've saved money. Fact is, most of the merchandise on sale is the stuff that didn't sell well. Additionally, if you watch for sales, the merchandise is often on sale at other times during the year.
ReplyDeleteIn Canada they've stepped up the retail frenzy by introducing Black Friday here to mitigate cross border shopping. I detest seeing/hearing Christmas tunes, ads etc. right after Halloween.
I don't see the benefit unless you enjoy crowds, pushing, or shoving.
Since our kids are all young adults, we keep things simple. We don't exchange Christmas gifts anymore. The focus for us is focused on enjoying one another's company, good food and drink. Perhaps some good movies, reading, blogging, walks and anxiously waiting for our cock-a-poo puppy sometime in later December.
Black Friday? What was I doing? Preparing Thanksgiving #2 and loving every minute although I'm whipped today!...:)JP
ReplyDeleteYikes! Black Friday is WAY too scary! As a teen I worked at K-mart. I saw enough Black Friday mobs to know that I never wanted to be part of one.
ReplyDeleteI buy 90% of Christmas online. When I was a kid, my mom fought the crowds to get me a Cabbage Patch doll. :) I think that was her only Black Friday outing.
We spent a quiet day at home. I used to get caught up in the hype but that was 15 or 20 years ago. "Stuff" just isn't that important to me anymore.
ReplyDeleteRemember when it was a BIG deal that a store opened at 6 AM on Friday? My, how things have changed...
I spent a quiet day at home as well. I used to be out there myself, but there seems to be more people these days or I'm getting too old to fight it.
ReplyDelete