Black Friday

Black Friday



In my opinion Black Friday should be considered a holiday. I know there are many people who cringe at the thought of this particular day and you couldn't pay enough money to get out in the middle of all the craziness. Not me!! You couldn't pay me to stay home. It's quite possibly my 4th favorite day of the year after Christmas, Thanksgiving and Halloween of course.

I love to shop, especially when it comes to a bargain! I'm great at finding a deal, ask any of my family and friends. I rarely pay full price for items. Besides investing in a good pair of shoes, jeans, or a handbag I always wait to find things on sale. Marshalls and Home Goods are like heaven because of all the great deals you can find. I will confess that I have to be in a particular mood to go to some of these stores because you have to dig through the racks and comb the aisles to find the best things. But it is so much fun!

Back to my comment yesterday; I blame this obsession with shopping, clothes, shoes, handbags, etc all on my Grandmother and Mother. We're all cut from the same cloth. I've learned all my skills from them and I'm so proud of it too! What I would do to be a personal shopper for someone. :)

So back to Black Friday. I cannot wait for the newspaper to arrive on Thanksgiving morning. One of my favorite things to do on Thanksgiving morning is sit in my PJ's with the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on TV and flip through all the advertisements. Forget looking at stuff online, I like the advertisements! I usually look through all them and place the keepers aside. Then I go back through a second time and start making my list.

As many of you sleep in late on Friday morning, recovering from all the wonderful food and wine you've had the day before, my Mom and I will be waking up at the crack of dawn and hitting the pavement. We put on our Christmas music, hop in the jolly green suburban and off we go! I'm so excited just thinking about it I could jump up and down. Most people out and about are happy and festive, all the stores have their decorations up, the music is playing and it's officially time for Christmas! What's not to love about this time of year? There is family, friends, parties, food, drinks, music, decorations, and presents. It's the most wonderful time of the year.

 If you're going to make the leap with me next Friday here are a few tips:

1. Have a strategy. You better believe if you're on the hunt for any electronic you need to be in line EARLY. A lot of stores are going to hand out vouchers for certain items before the they even open. So if you're serious about getting a certain item, you better be serious about waking up very, very early (Target opens at 4:00a.m).

2. Run don't walk. Once again, if you're going for electronics and don't get a voucher before the store opens, you better run to the back of the store. Things will go quickly so don't lollygag around.

3. The mall is a completely different story. A lot of stores like J.Crew, Banana, Belk, and other clothing stores will only run special discounts until 11:00a.m., or if you're lucky 12:00p.m. Trust me, it's worth taking advantage of these offers too. Stores may not advertise these specials, but always look in the newspaper, check online, or just call the store. If you wait past lunch time to go to the mall then you're probably going to be too late for the best discounts.

4. Eat breakfast!! Once you get going it's hard to stop. You will wear yourself down and get a headache if you don't eat something. Grab a bagel, doughnut,  or cereal bar but just make sure you get something in your stomach.

5. If you buy large ticket items and aren't too far from home, take them home! It's not good to leave items in your car throughout the day. Folks comb the parking lots and break into people's cars because they know that this is one the busiest shopping days of the year. So be very careful with what you leave in your car.

6. Make sure everyone in your party has their cell phone. It's easy to get separated in all the madness or you may decide it's best to divide and conquer. Either way, make sure you have a way to get back in touch with each other.

7. Have fun! I love buying gifts for my family and friends, and it's even better when you can save some money. Take a deep breath and go for it. Here is a sneak peak at the deals store's are running: Black Friday Deals. If this is just too much for you to handle then don't forget about Cyber Monday (for the lazy folks....).

Happy Shopping!!