S/O of Holiday Hill... What's you Black Friday plans/preferences?

[magicdomino]

I don't do crowds, I don't do mornings (especially Oh-gawd-awful in the morning), and I don't really do shopping.  So, I will be spending Black Friday the way I usually do, at the office catching up on stuff and maybe doing a little Internet surfing.  That said, last year I went to the Home Depot near my home and wasn't tramatized.  I might try that if they have the 99 cent poinsettias again.

[lowspark]

I love shopping on Black Friday! There! I admit it! I'm one of the crazies. Well, not really, not one of the really crazies.

Firstly we don't do gifts for any December holidays in my family so I really have no shopping agenda.
Secondly, I don't do the 6am/midnight/8pm on TG bit. There's nothing I need that badly or need to save $50 on to make it worth that kind of effort.

BUT! There are some deals to be had. And I love to shop. So, we started this tradition a few years ago and now we do it every year.

We live three hours from a double-huge outlet mall (two separate malls across the street from each other). We wake up at 5 am (it helps that we are guests at my sister's for TG so we're coming off a fun & relaxing day) and drive three hours to the malls. Just about the time we're getting there (~9am) the extreme early crowds are dying down. We shop till lunch time when the crowds are building back up and leave the mall for a nice TexMex lunch at a local spot. Then we return and shop till dinner time when we drive 30 minutes to a much larger city for dinner. Three hours back home gets us to bed around midnight.

It's a long day but it's a lot of fun because we love to shop and get some good deals and just generally enjoy the day. Anyway, it's fairly stress free because like I said, no agenda, just shopping for myself, and my mindset is "don't be in a hurry". These malls are outdoor malls and like I said, huge, so even when it's crowded, it's not really all that bad. I don't think I've ever waited behind maybe 3-4 people in any line at the cashier!

[makotohanabi]

Black Friday represents the things I avoid most in life, getting up early and crowds. If I do any shopping it will be online, I try to avoid going into any store from Saturday before Thanksgiving until Jan 2 except for grocery stores. One of these days I'll stockpile 3 months of food so I can avoid the grocery store as well. For me it's just the day before the Michigan-Ohio State game. Go Blue!


Inlaws are visiting so we might do some touristy thing in Washington DC, or we might just spend the day reading and learning about what everyone is up to in DH's hometown (population >200 so when I say everyone it means every person).

[jmarvellous]

I love shopping on Black Friday! There! I admit it! I'm one of the crazies. Well, not really, not one of the really crazies.

Firstly we don't do gifts for any December holidays in my family so I really have no shopping agenda.
Secondly, I don't do the 6am/midnight/8pm on TG bit. There's nothing I need that badly or need to save $50 on to make it worth that kind of effort.

BUT! There are some deals to be had. And I love to shop. So, we started this tradition a few years ago and now we do it every year.

We live three hours from a double-huge outlet mall (two separate malls across the street from each other). We wake up at 5 am (it helps that we are guests at my sister's for TG so we're coming off a fun & relaxing day) and drive three hours to the malls. Just about the time we're getting there (~9am) the extreme early crowds are dying down. We shop till lunch time when the crowds are building back up and leave the mall for a nice TexMex lunch at a local spot. Then we return and shop till dinner time when we drive 30 minutes to a much larger city for dinner. Three hours back home gets us to bed around midnight.

It's a long day but it's a lot of fun because we love to shop and get some good deals and just generally enjoy the day. Anyway, it's fairly stress free because like I said, no agenda, just shopping for myself, and my mindset is "don't be in a hurry". These malls are outdoor malls and like I said, huge, so even when it's crowded, it's not really all that bad. I don't think I've ever waited behind maybe 3-4 people in any line at the cashier!

If I'm guessing right and you are talking about San Marcos, bon voyage! That is my one definite Black Friday "no way in heck" destination. Mainly because it's SO sprawling, more than anything else.

I've gone some years with my mom, more for the spectacle than the savings (though I did get my gifts for friends that night each year when I was in high school).

This year, we'll be on a trip out of state with only carry-on luggage, so even if I wanted to shop, I would pass.

[lowspark]

Yup, you got it right, San Marcos. The sprawl is exactly what makes it seem less crowded. Fortunately they really do have adequate parking as well and the walking doesn't bother me at all so as long as the weather holds up, it's really a good place to be on Black Friday. Anyway, have fun on your trip!

[hobish]

I love that my office now shuts down for black Friday. I like to hide inside and not leave home at all. Gish has to work this year, so i will have the house to myself, which is rare, so extra nice. Much as i feel bad for him having to work i am looking forward to it.

[Amara]

Holy cow! Did you know that Sears is opening at 6:00 am on Thanksgiving--and then again at 8:00 pm?!!

http://consumerist.com/2012/11/19/3-reasons-why-350000-signatures-on-a-petition-wont-change-targets-mind-about-opening-on-thanksgiving/

[Jovismom]

The only time I have ever been in a  store on black Friday was last year.  Our kitchen faucet had the poor timing to terminally break on that day.  I really NEEDED a new faucet.  I got the faucet and yes it was on sale but, the experience reinforced my inclination to avoid all stores on that day unless it’s something like my broken faucet that can’t be worked around.  I really don't care what kind of sales they're having.  My time and sanity are worth more!

[Slartibartfast]

Black Friday is my personal deadline for getting all my necklaces up on my Etsy site and getting some web ads running - I generally try to advertise with small webcomics (because who doesn't like webcomics?) so if y'all read comics online, keep an eye out for a banner ad for Nerdy Necklaces because that's me 

[CocoCamm]

My mom and I LOVE Black Friday. We've shopped together on BF for years, it's become our holiday shopping tradition. About 2 years ago we started getting up for the early bird sales and now this year my mom wants to just stay up. The plan is to take a brief nap once we get home from Thanksgiving (which is held about an hour away from us) then meet up at my moms house for a snack and coffee and to formulate a shopping strategy. We usually hit between 6-10 stores and are home before noon with at least half of our holiday shopping done. 

I can honestly say I don't see any more rudeness on BF then on any other shopping day. Most of the store clerks and fellow shoppers have a great "we're all in this craziness together" attitude which makes it quite fun, IMO.

[baglady]

I'm another who tends to avoid stores from Thanksgiving to Boxing Day, except for groceries and a few other minor exceptions: getting a gift for Bagman's birthday (11/29), replacing anything essential of mine that gets lost or broken, and picking up something for the office Secret Santa, should we decide to do it (we don't always). Otherwise, I don't do Christmas gifting.

We have a friend who throws a potluck Black Friday night. Since Bagman has to work during the day, I'm in charge of whipping up our potluck contribution. The only other thing on my agenda that day is working out.

[stargazer]

I usually avoid it although my DH gets up early to go check out the deals.  This year I'll go out to look at 50% off Christmas trees at Michael's as we're thinking about getting a fake tree this year so we can have it up all season and maybe some decorations.   We might look for my Christmas present as well - DH is thinking about jewelry but also knows I am very picky about what I will wear or like but when we do this I miss out on being surprised.   I prefer being surprised so it will have to depend on how good the deals are.

[MERUNCC13]

We don't do Black Friday in my house, although we tried it a couple of years ago and discovered that it was not worth getting up before the crack of dawn for a limited selection of sale items. 
This year, as we both work in our local school system (and I am in college to boot!) we plan to spend the day in our PJs, eat leftovers, exchange war stories about our job (we have the same position at different schools!) and laugh at those who spent Thanksgiving giving retail workers fits!

[nuit93]

Eating leftovers, watching movies, and doing the holiday shopping online.

[Just Lori]

I'm working retail!  Fortunately I work in a specialty store that doesn't do the typical Black Friday markdowns, so I anticipate seeing some shellshocked shoppers meandering in by mid-morning.

I checked out Black Friday last year and found that I couldn't leave the store fast enough.