Let The Christmas Madness Begin

[Britt.f7]

This is the first year I did not go out on Black Friday. I didn't even buy a newspaper to see the ads.

Only one person caused a big scene at a local mall. They thought a shot was fired but it turned out to be a trash can was knocked over. Good to hear. Everything looks to be pretty tame around here.

I did order some things online. I believe I have one son pretty much finished. The other son, I'm still waiting for his list. He does not usually like asking for things. I still have to shop for everyone else. I'm usually a shopper, but I have no desire this year. Asked my husband what he wanted, he said the same thing he asks for every year, for me to be healthy.

Not much interested in the holiday this year. You would of thought last year would have been worse after my mom died. I think, because of that, I tried hard to make everything okay for my family. I fell apart a couple months later. Haven't gotten quite back on my feet since then. Hopefully getting better.

 

[Queen Boudica]

What is Black Friday? It sounds awful from your descriptions.

 

[KP the nut]

What is Black Friday?

I was wondering the same ?????

 

[Britt.f7]

Black Friday is the biggest, if not one of the biggest, shopping days of the year. It is the day after Thanksgiving where there are suppose to be huge sales and deals that aren't available any other time of the year(whether that is true or not is debatable). People rush to the stores to get these deals. It's madness. They started opening earlier and earlier every year for the shoppers. Now some stores open late Thanksgiving night. I use to get up early to get the deals. Sometimes the deals are only for a few hours after opening. This has been known to cause stampedes. People will wait overnight for the store to open in huge lines, with the hope of getting an "amazing" deal.

I've also worked in retail during this craziness.

Now there is Cyber Monday. This is suppose to be internet shopping's biggest day. Other then the possibility of servers being overwhelmed, this is the perfect shopping day for me. I can do it in my PJ's. ;)

 

[KP the nut]

It is the day after Thanksgiving

Then I'm glad I'm in England - no Thanksgiving Day :tup:

 

[Deleted member 1860]

Black Friday was named such as its the day that stores go from operating in the "red" to operating in the "black".

I really don't understand the draw. I am a bargain hunter by nature but I haven't seen anything so cheap that I will fight the maddening crowds in the middle of the night just at the CHANCE of getting something cheap. No rain checks on BF usually, so if you're not at the front of the line you're SOL. Really, is it worth it?

People give thanks on Thursday for what they do have (thanksgiving) and then are willing to beat up a total stranger on Friday (black Friday) for what they don't. Somehow I don't see this as the spirit of the season!

But, having said that, I have dropped a small (haha) amount shopping online today. It was nice that my only frustration was a slow website or two!

 

[Hashi]

I bought my iPod here in the UK a couple of years ago when a chain of electronics shops decided to give huge discounts on Apple products for one day only on Black Friday (which I've never heard of here before or since). It was completely over my head, and everyone else's here as well I think. I'd just wandered in to look at iPods and was one of about five people who'd happened across it in that shop on that day and snapped up a bargain.

I'm glad it hasn't taken off here. The New Year sales are bad enough.

...the night the shops were open 24 hours a day or two before Christmas ...

What is this insanity?

I've already got Christmas present buying out of the way, although I ate part of one present tonight - chocolate - because I had a bad day. :hungry: The hazard of buying early.

 

[KP the nut]

I don't do madding crowds or sales. I just don't have the 'killer' instinct.

My gifts are thought out. I don't care about if it is a bargain. I think of the gift for the person and then look on-line for the best price prior to ordering.

I hate crowds and for me, the internet is a godsend.

 

[Britt.f7]

I've gotten some good deals in the past, but I can't say it was necessarily worth it. This year my boys and husband went out when things quieted down a bit. I stayed home and ordered some things. Personally, I do not like the crowds so online works well for me. ;)

 

[Deleted member 1860]

It's funny....on the news tonight I heard a blurb about how US companies were advertising black Friday sales outside of the US for the first time (or something like that). There were Canadians who came down to shop because they said they couldn't get such good prices in Canada.

I think it's kind of sad that we don't really have Thanksgiving anymore. Black Friday now starts on Thursday evening, so there really is no day "off" so to speak. I love the holidays (haha I count my birthday in October as the beginning....skip Halloween, then on to Thanksgiving and finally Christmas...new years is such a let down!) and hate the commercial aspect of it all. Don't get me wrong, I love to see the stores decorated and such, with holiday music playing, but at the same time I don't really spend a lot on gifts. I only really buy for my close family members, and make other holiday goodies for extended family and friends. I love to give people gifts, but I'm not about to go into debt to do so! (Really, I don't think anyone should!)

Gizmo, did you miss the Target Christmas ad that started running before Halloween? I didn't mind it so much because it had the cute Target dog in it and wasn't annoying like some ads can be. But I guess the true madness has really begun? LOL

 

[Whitneys story]

Last year we did all of our shopping on black Friday.

Oh my sanity is so worth not shopping on this day!

 

[Whitneys story]

Great thread though! Thanks Gizmo