Snarky Brides

Black Friday?

Maybe becaue I grew up in a very rural area 2 hours away from a mall, but I have NEVER understood the appeal of Black Friday. How can you enjoy your Thanksgiving if you have to worry about trudging into stores the next day (or heck, midnight that very same day). I MAY be guilty of a little bit of online shopping, but the holidays are about going all out with family and RELAXING to me.
What are everyone's Black Friday plans?

Re: Black Friday?

  • I'm not, but I have done the doorbuster shopping in the past years.  If you have a gameplan it can be very worth it.  I think I spent just under $70. last year on Friday and managed to get gifts for all the relatives at that price thanks to ridiculous deals.

    If we were in the market for a tv or something else big, I'd definitely be there.  I'm not a fan of this early opening  though.
  • I will never understand the allure and will never participate. Seriously, I want to enjoy Thanksgiving. I also want to enjoy shopping.
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  • Haha! When I was about 10 and my brother was a few years younger we tried to go Black Friday shopping with my Mom and Grandma. Well my mom is very impatient and my Grandma is a master of complaining of anything that is not convenient and it was a total disaster. After that we just never did Black Friday in my family and I am not interested enough to get up at the crack of dawn by myself!
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  • As long as I am feeling better, I will be decking the halls and baking cookies! FI has to work, so I can blare the Christmas music as loud as I want :)
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  • B2Z728B2Z728 member
    First Comment 5 Love Its
    edited November 2012
    There's 7-10 malls within 30 minutes of where I live and grew up. I have never had any desire to even go near a mall on Black Friday. Even just driving in the vicinity of one causes traffic. Yes, you can get some great deals, but crowded malls make me feel like a crazy person. It's just not worth it to me. But will I be shopping online on Friday? Most likely. These days I try to do most of my holiday shopping online or at a local business. 

    ETA: Black Friday is meant for putting up Christmas decorations!
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  • The whole opening early thing is a little crazy! Kinda like all the boxing day sales that start online at midnight on Christmas, but at least they haven't started opening the stores yet. Some of the Canadian stores have decided to do Black Friday this year, but I'm working all day. Hope it catches on up here!

     

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  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_black-friday-1?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:17Discussion:a05f8206-d675-482f-be16-00fb7658ae85Post:813cebd0-9d45-471f-974d-997db29ce0b5">Re: Black Friday?</a>:
    [QUOTE]  ETA: Black Friday is meant for putting up Christmas decorations!
    Posted by B2Z728[/QUOTE]

    This!!!
  • When I was growing up Mom's idea of fun was getting the car and driving to Columbus to shop on BF, not early though. It was a tradition till my son was a few years old.

    We would stop at the Amish restaurant in Plain City and eat breakfast, then head to City Center and look at the lights, maybe do some shopping, but it wasnt about shopping at all.

    I try and stay away from the crazy sales, it's never been worth it to me and there is never anything I'd sit for hours in the cold waiting to save a few bucks on. And I usually have to work the next day anyway.
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  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_black-friday-1?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:17Discussion:a05f8206-d675-482f-be16-00fb7658ae85Post:813cebd0-9d45-471f-974d-997db29ce0b5">Re: Black Friday?</a>:
    [QUOTE]There's 7-10 malls within 30 minutes of where I live and grew up. I have never had any desire to even go near a mall on Black Friday. Even just driving in the vicinity of one causes traffic. Yes, you can get some great deals, but crowded malls make me feel like a crazy person. It's just not worth it to me. But will I be shopping online on Friday? Most likely. These days I try to do most of my holiday shopping online or at a local business.  ETA: <strong>Black Friday is meant for putting up Christmas decorations!</strong>
    Posted by B2Z728[/QUOTE]

    Exactly! I would much rather stay home and decorate than go out and deal with the crowds. We did go out last year, but later in the day so most of the crazy deals--and associated crowds--were gone by the time we got there.
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  • Black Friday is for putting up decorations?

    You mean y'all haven't already decorated your houses?  Werid.   ;)
  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_black-friday-1?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:17Discussion:a05f8206-d675-482f-be16-00fb7658ae85Post:813cebd0-9d45-471f-974d-997db29ce0b5">Re: Black Friday?</a>:
    [QUOTE]There's 7-10 malls within 30 minutes of where I live and grew up. I have never had any desire to even go near a mall on Black Friday. Even just driving in the vicinity of one causes traffic. Yes, you can get some great deals, but crowded malls make me feel like a crazy person. It's just not worth it to me. But will I be shopping online on Friday? Most likely. These days I try to do most of my holiday shopping online or at a local business. <strong><em><u> ETA: Black Friday is meant for putting up Christmas decorations!</u></em></strong>
    Posted by B2Z728[/QUOTE]


    This...exactly this.
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  • When I was younger I'd go Black Friday shopping with my mom and grandma and we'd have a great time. I really enjoyed it, mainly because the three of us had fun. Now that I live OOT, I haven't been going. H always works Black Friday and no way do I want to face those crowds alone--takes all the fun out of it. I also never got out super early even when we did shop--it was always mid-morning/mid-day.

    Someone in our city is already camping out at Best Buy since last night with a tent in preparation of Friday. That is an I don't get it for me. There is nothing in this world (except maybe $1 million) that I want bad enough to live outside in the cold for 4 days straight.


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  • I agree with the decorating sentiment. My fiance and I will spend Black Friday decorating his grandparents' tree and, on Saturday, we will decorate at my dad's place. On Sunday I'll be "decorating" myself, as I have my first dress fitting with the seamstress!

    Ever since I was a kid, I've always felt very bad for people who have to work on Black Friday, through Christmas time, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. I used to like shopping at the malls in December, but it was to admire the pretty lights and tree displays - not to get deals! Lately it's gotten way too crazy, especially with these poor retail employees expected to rush to work as soon as the Thanksgiving dishes are cleared off the table.

    My fiance also used to work retail, so every time I see news footage of the stores having to deal with the angry, crazy Black Friday mobs, I can't help but think of him and his coworkers.
  • I've only gone a handful of times. I'm going this year with my MOH and another BM because I haven't seen them in a while. We're doing midnight margaritas then shopping. I will say that I am dissappointed with places opening on Thanksgiving. Some places are starting the BF deals at 8pm on Thursday night, That just completely disregards the holiday and makes me sad. But I don't shopping on actual Friday. Although our midnight plans are kind of pushing that. 

    I also agree with decorating on Friday! That was the tradition in my house growing up.
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  • I'll probably hit a couple stores, but I'm not looking for anything in particular.  I'm not getting up early either.
  • I went enthusiastically last year, only because H wanted a wool peacoat and video camera, and I could not have afforded both without the doorbuster sale. But this year, I'm trying buy from smaller businesses, and get it all done early. But I will be my mom and aunt's placeholder in the checkout line while they shop this year. They said they'd buy me something pretty. 
  • I work retail so I'm not going to be shopping.  But before that, my mom, my sister and I would go shop, not right at opening, but in the morning, and it was always very fun.
  • Growing up as a kid, tradition was to put up Christmas lights / decorations on Friday. After living with my DH, I've joined his tradition to go black Friday shopping. We have many different malls within 15 miles so shopping isn't bad at all. I agree with Liatris that the sales aren't THAT much better than regular Holiday sales, but since i'm a HUGE procrastinator, this is the only time i have to buy X-Mas gifts at a bargain. Since H and I go together, the lines are a breeze, we take turns standing in line so when we're done, we only wait a few minutes to pay. Other lone shoppers hate us for this but oh well.

    We've never done the whole best buy camp out but we stay up with family till midnight and end up getting back home at like 4am. I really like it now, we spend the night at my in laws and wake up before noon to have another warm pumpkin pie and tamales. lol.
  • I go later in the day. The doorbusters are sometimes still there and available but overall the sales are the exact same.
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  • We're currently in BFE, so no Black Friday shopping for me.  I have done it in the past, and found some good deals, but I wonder sometimes if it's really worth all the effort.
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