November 23, 2015

The Do's and Don'ts of BLACK FRIDAY



It's Turkey Week!


And after all the celebrating, thankfulness and pumpkin pie it's go time. Black Friday shopping time that is.

Now I'm not saying you should or shouldn't go Black Friday shopping. In fact I have serious issues with how commercialized it has become and how stores open on Thanksgiving night now. I applaud the companies who have made it a point to close for the holiday.

That being said, I've been Black Friday shopping for about as long as I have been walking. Thus I feel I have enough experience to give you some tips to make your shopping trip more successful if you choose to venture out and fight the crowds this year.

This is an up-cycled post for your enjoyment. I feel it is relevant every year around this time!


When tackling Black Friday...

DO:
  • Have a plan. We specify what store, what time we are going (tentatively) and what we are buying there.
  • Go with friends/family. Duh, if you go with the people you love, it's much more fun!
  • Stop and eat a good breakfast. We stop at the Egg Factory every year after a couple stops to re-fuel.
  • Have any coupons or flyers ready to go at check out so you don't hold up the line.
  • Avoid the drama. Line too long? Someone throwing a fit? Walk away. The deal is not worth it.
  • Spread Christmas Cheer!!! Be extra polite and friendly while you are out on this stressful day. It truly is the kick off of the holidays, so remember to say THANK YOU, Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays!


DON'T:

  • Go out wearing your pajamas. Really people, why?
  • Expect there to not be a line, or for stores not to run out of popular items.
  • Bring young children. If you're out shopping at 4 AM your child should be in bed, not with you.
  • Bring a huge purse or wear uncomfortable shoes. It's a marathon, not a sprint, so be prepared.

My typical Black Friday consists of:
  • Home Depot for $.99 Poinsettias, fresh garlands and lights
  • Fred Meyer for buy one get one free socks
  • Breakfast at Egg Factory
  • Target for wrapping paper and misc. sale items
  • The Mall - JC Penney/ Kohls/ American Eagle/ misc.
  • A well deserved nap

So make a plan, be cheerful, and make a day of it with your favorite people!

Do you go Black Friday shopping? It's a bit of a tradition for us. What are your favorite tips? Favorite stores to visit?

Happy almost Turkey Time!
 
post signature

20 comments:

  1. I've only been BF shopping a few times, but last year I got a part-time holiday job (and kept it through the year) so this year I will be WORKING on the retail holiday. (We're open on Thanksgiving, too, but fortunately I don't have to work.) I work from 6am to 10am on BF and I am PRAYING that people are nice :) The best "DO" I can think of is be nice to your cashier/sales person! Haha!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love this post! I think the two biggest things to stress are enjoy yourself/have fun!/be with friends and family, and BE POLITE TO THE PEOPLE WORKING. I worked retail for several years, missing out on Thanksgiving to work. Many of those employees are working straight through Thanksgiving dinner into Black Friday morning with just a short break in between. Be polite to those who are working and those shopping, even when they aren't polite back. It's just in the Christmas spirit to do so! :)


    Kayla @ a paper arrow.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I do need to get some holiday gifts but I think cyber monday is going to be my go-to.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I prefer to support Small Business Saturday and shop locally for holiday gifts :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have been black friday shopping every year since I was 10 years old! My mom and I go. We start out Thursday night at around 9 or 10 pm and we literally shop alllllll night long well in to Friday afternoon. We eating out probably 2-3 times and I get about 20,000 steps on my fitbit. It is so fun!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I hope we go Black Friday shopping this year! And by Black Friday shopping I mean head to Target at about 1 p.m. with Starbucks in hand. Ha!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'm not a Black Friday shopper and never have been. I do shop online on Black Friday.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Agree with all of these! So excited for Black Friday!

    ReplyDelete
  9. no black friday stuff here for us (i guess your black friday is our Boxing day - day after christmas) but i usually just shop online because ain't nobody got time for those line-ups!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I stay away from the stores on Black Friday as the fear of getting trampled is WAY to high. & there is NO way that I'll step into a store on Thanksgiving! Nope, not cool to make their employees work on on that day.

    ReplyDelete
  11. No black friday for me too much crazy and I don't really need anything that will be on sale..but I will admit ive done black friday shopping in my pajamas many times because i get to go to bed on thanksgiving and get up around 2/3 and go shop and then go back to bed without changing.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Love this girl, I used to love the excitement of waking up early on Friday and going to the stores to wait in line, but now with the holiday just completely being overlooked it takes the fun out of it. Online shopping has been my jam lately since most of my gifts get shipped out I just buy gifts and ship it right to their house wrapped :)!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Amazing Tips! I stay home for black friday tho and instead i start putting up christmas decor! Can't wait. and it gives me a reason to stay home and save money lol
    XO Ellen from Ask Away
    www.askawayblog.com

    ReplyDelete
  14. Maybe it's because I'm Canadian but I never understood the craziness that is Black Friday shopping ... yes the deals are amazing but I've seen some news articles of people literally being TRAMPLED!!! Scary stuff.. Enjoy your Thanksgiving girl!

    ReplyDelete
  15. I used to loooove Black Friday shopping. The older I got the more I grew to hate it... just mainly because the older I get the more I hate people/crowds in general. I'll cut someone. I don't want to go to jail. lol

    ReplyDelete
  16. i have never been actually shopping on black friday. we *might* be going this week. maybe. haha. maybe just to target!

    ReplyDelete
  17. I LOVEEEEE black friday shopping, but my husband hates it! I don’t go to any big stores like Best Buy, or anything, but I do love going to Target later in the day! I didn’t know Home Depot had sales!!! I’m going to have to check out their flowers and lights!!! Yippeee!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hahaha yess this post! I've actually never been shopping on black friday, but it sounds like a great time! My family is a bit more lame... we kind of just hang out and watch movies. Haha

    ReplyDelete
  19. These are great tips! This year my mom, brother, and I ventured out on Thanksgiving to only one store. That one store had the most things that we wanted and we only went after our family lunch was over. We were able to get in and out of the store in about an hour so it wasn't even that crazy!

    ReplyDelete