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Black Friday is almost upon us!  I just don’t know how we’re talking Black Friday already. I’m ambivalent about it myself.

I really want some of the great deals that always pop up on that day, but I just don’t want them badly enough to get trampled by all that peace on Earth and goodwill toward men. 🙂

I always marvel at the people who do Black Friday with a vengeance. Those people who camp out three days before. People who make spreadsheets with their plan of attack. These people are hardcore. When all our kids were little, two of my sisters-in-law would come to Thanksgiving loaded down with newspapers with all the Black Friday shopping ads.

While the rest of us were slipping into tryptophan comas, they would practically salivate going through the ads deciding what their plan of attack (that would begin at 0400 hours) would entail.

I just don’t have it in me. Maybe it’s because I spent many years on the other side of it working in retail. That will cure you from ever becoming a shopaholic.

But I DO enjoy Cyber Monday. I get my shopping list together over Thanksgiving weekend and I’m ready to go on Monday morning. The thing I like most about Cyber Monday almost better than the deals is all the free shipping that most stores offer.

Paying for shipping is something I try to avoid year-round if possible, but especially during the holidays. It can really add up and I will buy something from a store offering free shipping over a store that doesn’t all day long.

With the advent of the internet, we no longer have to slog through all those ads that would come with the newspaper to find out what the deals are for Black Friday. We can also find out what they are much sooner than we used to. Lots of Black Friday ads get “leaked” and some stores start offering their deals even earlier than Black Friday.

Black Friday seems to get more diluted each year with stores trying to get people to shop early. Many have been running Black Friday deals for weeks now.

I haven’t liked it in years past because Thanksgiving is on life support to be the last holiday standing that isn’t completely commercialized. I’m saddened by the trend over the last several years where stores compete to see who can open earlier to grab shoppers.

It used to be at zero dark thirty on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Then some stores started opening on the evening of Thanksgiving. Then some stores like Kohl’s started opening on Thanksgiving and staying open round the clock over the whole weekend.

I think there’s been a bit of backlash to all that shopping in recent years, with stores like Costco, Crate and Barrel, Home Goods, and Home Depot remaining closed on Thanksgiving Day. I love this idea and hope more stores join the movement.

Many stores will be closed on Thanksgiving this year. I never thought I’d see the day when Walmart is closed on Thanksgiving. Target, Kohl’s, Macy’s, Best Buy, and many others are also going to be closed.

Here’s a list of stores that have announced they will be closed on Thanksgiving Day.

I just don’t think we need to be shopping on Thanksgiving, and more importantly, making retail workers take time from their own celebrations to come to work. This year, I think EVERYONE has earned a day off. 🙂

But once the stores do open, we might as well get the best deals, right? 🙂

If you do plan to take advantage of Black Friday deals, did you know you can find them all in one place? There is a great website called The Black Friday where you can get a look now at all the upcoming deals.

They have all the info on the popular stores everyone loves like:

• Walmart
• Target
• Best Buy
• Kohl’s
• Michael’s

They usually group the most popular ads first on their site, then they really help us out by listing all the stores they have info on in alphabetical order!

There’s also a Best Black Friday Deals page that shows you the best stuff the most popular stores are offering.

You can also search by category for deals. You can choose to view ads for toys, TVs, laptops, jewelry, makeup, and others.

It’s so convenient to be able to take a look at all the deals ahead of Black Friday. You can sit by the fire with some hot chocolate and plan your shopping trip. Then whatever time and day you start your holiday shopping, you’ll be ready to go!

I won’t be joining any of the fray in stores but I will definitely be checking the Black Friday ads to see what stores are offering so that I can get some ideas for my Cyber Monday strategy.

If you’d like some free planning sheets to help you plan your strategy for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, just enter your email address below and you’ll receive them instantly in your inbox!

 

I’d love to hear if you have any holiday shopping tips! Feel free to share in the comment section.

 

Just a heads up, this is the final week to shop for any fall printables from my Printables Shop. This weekend, Christmas stuff arrives! 🙂 So head on over!

 

The Christmas Planner is already available! If you need help planning all your holiday activities, give it a look! It’s available in my Printables Shop, and in paperback on Amazon.

 

Happy shopping!

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