My plans for Friday are unambitious -- they involve the couch, the stack of books I have on reserve at the library, and a big bowl of my mother-in-law's delicious Holiday Potatoes. (And a portable defibrillator, because have you seen what goes into those potatoes?)
But I know these are hardcore bargain hunters for whom the Friday after Thanksgiving is the culmination of everything's they've trained for. They're the ones who are up at midnight for door-buster sales, or attaching spikes to their elbows to better negotiate those crowds around the Wii, or brandishing flyers like they're the 95 Theses of Retail. They're the Black Friday shoppers, an elite corps of savvy spenders.
And I know that there are equally committed people who will observe Buy Nothing Day. These folks are protesting the rampant consumerism and more-is-more mentality that seems synonymous with Christmas.
So, my throwdown question to you: Which do you do -- Black Friday where you get the bang for your buck, or Buy Nothing where you refuse to buy into the pre-holiday hype? Or do you go a third way?
See, I'm a weirdo. I go shopping, but NOT for the bargains at 4 a.m. crap. This year, we're hitting a giant craft fair.
Last year was probably the closest I've gotten to real BF shopping, because we were in San Francisco whooping it up in the snooty stores. It was..interesting, albeit overloading and crazy. Especially trying to eat, OMG.
Posted by: Jennifer | 2008.11.26 at 14:13
I go the third way--I usually work the day after Thanksgiving, and I don't sweat buying myself lunch, or groceries or incidentals. I do have to buy gifts this Christmas season, but I think a lot of recipients will get the delicious but practical AZ citrus.
Posted by: Kerry | 2008.11.26 at 14:13
I shop some years - it's a social event in my family, we love love love our bargains. I go only if I already have a list compiled of gifts I want to buy (cash in hand) and am in the mood for a shopathon with my mom or cousins. This year, I have no list (non-helpful siblings don't want anything in particular), limited cash (don't we all?), and I'm way more in the mood to play guitar hero all day instead.
I expect that there will be mondo bargains to be had right through the rest of the shopping season, hopefully by Christmas morn I'll know what to buy for people. Otherwise, they're all just getting piles of cookies. And ugly sweaters.
Posted by: lizb | 2008.11.26 at 18:03
I don't shop on Black Friday, but not out of a sense of anti-consumerism. I just hate, hate, HATE crowds like that, and no amount of savings is worth braving them.
Posted by: Julie | 2008.11.26 at 20:42
Having worked retail for many years during college, you couldn't give me a million dollars to set foot in a store tomorrow. I would rather pay $20 more for something than face the craziness that is Black Friday.
Humorous memory of Black Fridays of past.. the most shoplifted item on Black Fridays where I worked-- the baby Jesus from the Nativity set.
Posted by: molly | 2008.11.27 at 08:48
I shop on Friday -- but only because there is a ginormous craft fair I only get to go to on the Friday after Thanksgiving, where there are a few crafters/artists I only get to see then. Otherwise, I think I'd love to do Buy Nothing. (Huh. Spellcheck recognizes "ginormous" but not "crafters" -- weird.)
Posted by: tadpoledrain | 2008.11.30 at 09:59