One of the things I remember growing up was that my mother told me the day after Thanksgiving was the "busiest shopping day of the year." I also remember her refusing to go anywhere near a store on that day. Always feeling a bit denied of some thrill I wasn't aware of, I decided as soon as I could drive, this would be one adventure I would readily take. That first "day after" shopping trip was nothing like I could have ever imagined, no parking, long lines and everything I had wanted was sold out. After that disappointment, I decided I probably would join my mother in banning this shopping day forever. But, as fate would have it, I started working for a major retail chain in my early 20's. I spent 7 yrs facing this shopping day from the "other side" of the register. During those 7 yrs of forced labor on Black Friday, I decided that my earlier conclusion was right. Stay away from the mall on the day after Thanksgiving. And for years after I left that job, I did exactly that.
Fast forward many years, and a friend asked me to go shopping with her on that day. I reluctantly agreed and met her at 5am to be at the store opening at 6am. I have to admit, after that one day, I was hooked. Funny, but I realized that I had missed this, after all, however, it wasn't the shopping, but the people watching I had missed from my many working days at the mall. I loved to watch the excitement of someone getting that purchase they had been so desperately waiting for or the reactions when 3 people are all going after the 1 last item on the shelf. As the years have gone by, I found myself becoming one of those people desperately seeking the best deal. A few years back, I even started going out in the wee hours of the morning, setting up a chair and climbing in my sleeping bag, just so I could be one of the first in the store to get the hot item that everyone wants. (Let me tell you, the year of the "Furbie" about brought me to tears and physical voilence). But this year brought about change. With stores opening at all different times, I spent most of my Thanksgiving studying store circulars and plotting my route. I was to be at the first store at midnight, shop there for a couple of hours and make my way to the next store that opened at 3am. After that, I would have to decide where to be at 4am, since there were several stores opening then. The next store in line, would open at 5am and from there it was a short jump to the last store opening at 6am. Thanksgiving night, I prepared myself, said good night to my kids and headed out for my quest. The night went pretty much as planned and I was able to get most everything I wanted. In one of the last stores, I was talking with a fellow shopper about the fact that it was 8am and we both were headed home to bed. Even though, I had been able to get the deals I was seeking, a kind of disappointment began setting in. I realized that Black Friday is not only about the deals, but about the thrill of the chase. And this year, the retailers took that away. Sad as it sounds, I miss having to sit outside the store all night waiting for it to open in the morning. Now that everyone can store hop, the shopping day is over by 8 or 9 am, and you are so tired that you have to go home and go to bed. If you try to be traditional and get to the stores around 7 or 8 am, you have missed all the sale items. If you make it for the sales, you can't stay awake to shop the rest of the day. Now I know that these changes aren't as serious as World Peace or anything, but to those of us die hards, we miss our traditional Black Friday and the thrills that go along with it... Just saying.
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