On the Friday after Thanksgiving this year, I will wake up before the sun rises to my mom calling me from the hallway, attempting to lure me out of bed with peanut butter toast and tea. I’ll throw on many layers of clothes (it will be uncomfortably cold outside), and we’ll jump in the car and join the masses of blurry-eyed bargain shoppers lined up outside of retail stores across the country. That’s right; we participate in the chaotic consumer frenzy known as Black Friday.
For those who don’t know, Black Friday is the biggest shopping day of the year and falls on the day after Thanksgiving. This is the date that stores roll out the big guns (read: huge discounts and sales) to get people to open their wallets. The deals on DVDs, electronics, and other popular items are often so good that it’s become a regular occurrence for people to line up outside of stores the night before. With the current dismal state of the economy, it’s possible that even more people will be on the hunt for cheap holiday gifts. Since I’m a seasoned BF veteran (though I’m a bit ashamed to admit that), I feel qualified to give you advice on how to come out of this year’s Black Friday with great bargains and, perhaps most importantly, your dignity and sanity in place.
Lists: Don’t Leave Home Without Them
Before the Internet, people had to wait until the Thanksgiving newspapers hit their doorsteps to check out the Friday sales. Now the sales are leaked online around the beginning of November. Web sites like BF Ads and Slickdeals post comprehensive, frequently updated guides to what the stores will offer. As you start forming your holiday gift lists, check out what will be offered on Black Friday. Make a detailed list of what you want from every store before you leave the house. It also helps to make an itinerary of which stores need to be hit first, since what times certain deals are offered varies. Black Friday is not a time to window shop or generate gift ideas. It’s easy to be overwhelmed and frazzled by the crowds without a plan of attack. Get organized, go in with a plan, and get out as soon as you can!
