Black Friday - whatcha doin'? whereya goin'?

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  • ski0721
    ski0721 Posts: 109 Member
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    Will not be going out shopping.
    Will be going to the gym bright and early to burn some serious cals after Turkey Day.
    Good luck to all venturing out! :flowerforyou:
  • wolverine66
    wolverine66 Posts: 3,779 Member
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    i didn't see what i asked was in the OP
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,692 Member
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    Not shopping!!!!! Honestly, with how prices and no hassle from online purchasing, why would someone really want to stand in line in the cold at 4am in the morning for a few bargains that are regular price on the internet?
    I worked in retail (Circuit City and Toys R Us) as a manager and can't tell you how obnoxious and rude Black Friday consumers are for that one day.

    For me, it's hit the gym, teach a class and catch a movie with my family.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • MityMax96
    MityMax96 Posts: 5,778 Member
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    Going to gym, other than that...staying home w/ the kiddos.
  • KelARita7
    KelARita7 Posts: 2,694 Member
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    Going to the Nebraska/Iowa game...probably no shopping...not a black Friday fan!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    cyber Monday is way better...I don't have to get up early and stand in line with a bunch of dumb *kitten* who trample each other to save a couple bucks on some bull**** they probably don't even need...but it's 40% off yo; gots to have it...

    edudemic.jpg

    ^^^this is asinine...plus I don't like people touching me, so some mother f'ers would get hurt for sure.
  • lt3ag4s
    lt3ag4s Posts: 835 Member
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    I will be my Battalion's Staff Duty Officer. Hopefully, it will be quiet.
  • coolraul07
    coolraul07 Posts: 1,606 Member
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    Short version: I dunno yet; haven't checked the ads yet. But I am NOT shopping on T-day; that's family time.

    Background:
    I USED to be a Black Friday addict! The adrenaline rush, staying awake 24+ hours and hitting a dozen stores, midnight madness, etc. However, last year was the first year since 1995 where I didn't automatically have both Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday off. I was only a few months into the job, so I didn't want to burn any leave unless sick. I did hit WalMart's T-Day night sale and got 2 excellent TV deals, cheap BluRays, and other stuff. But I worked on Black Friday.

    I essentially became a "Cyber Monday and afterwards..." shopper. I think it might have stuck. I haven't even checked out the Black Friday ads yet this year and I used to spend days mapping out sales and strategies. I'm talking spreadsheets, GPS maps, etc.

    Three other things might also turned me off from (most of) the Black Friday madness.
    (1) They keep pushing the sales backwards in time; T-Day night was one thing, but now you have stores starting T-day morning! At this rate of one-ups-manship, in a few years the midnight sales will start a week earlier! #SMDH
    (2) Cyber Monday has become so popular, Black Friday deals aren't as spectacular in comparison as they once were. Except for the 2 TVs I bought, pretty much everything I would've wanted on Black Friday was available for similar prices the following week.
    (3) There used to be a bit of 'forbidden fruit' aspect to getting Black Friday ads early. Seeing the stores sending "cease and desist" letters to websites,etc., kinda made you feel like you had an angle that others didn't. A lie, yes, but you could live that lie. Nowadays, the stores proactively send their ads to this sites weeks in advance. There's no more 'taboo' left to it.

    Having been an avid, regular Black Friday shopper for close to 2 decades, I will say this. First, the majority of my buys were actually worth the time/effort. Second, the stores have VASTLY improved their strategies! 2011/2012 was WAAAYYY nicer than even 2008! Take Walmart for example. In 2010, they ran outta shopping carts because people (including me) snatched them all up hours before the sales started. It was a mystery where everything was, so most of the carts were jammed up around the electronic dept. When the sales actually started, you had to abandon your basket cuz of the glut of traffic in one area. I and others were walking around carrying stacks of boxes for hours until it cleared up some. Nowadays, they provide maps on the website and app, they spread stuff out all across the store and mark it off with balloons so you can see from afar. And in a genius move, the most popular deals are in the grocery section where they can cordone off aisles and wrap lines in a neat serpentine fashion. Last year, I got EVERYTHING that I wanted with time to spare.
  • BamaBreezeNSaltAire
    BamaBreezeNSaltAire Posts: 966 Member
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    cyber Monday is way better...I don't have to get up early and stand in line with a bunch of dumb *kitten* who trample each other to save a couple bucks on some bull**** they probably don't even need...but it's 40% off yo; gots to have it...

    edudemic.jpg

    ^^^this is asinine...plus I don't like people touching me, so some mother f'ers would get hurt for sure.

    *sits next to Wolfman in agreement*

    Drinking a nice hot cup of coffee on my back porch and watching my children play!
  • knittnponder
    knittnponder Posts: 1,954 Member
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    The day after Thanksgiving in our little family is officially known as "Christmas Tree Day" so the only thing we'll be shopping for is a Christmas Tree. We found a new farm last year that has amazing trees so we'll be going there since our old farm (the one we've been going to for almost 15 years! :cry: is closed this year.) We schlep all over the place trying to find that elusive "perfect tree" until we're all exhausted. Did I mention that we usually have a HUGE, "Griswold Family Christmas" sized tree? Then we get to drag that sucker back to the car and of course we usually find one in the farthest corner of the place! It usually overhangs our Suburban when we tie it up there.

    Plenty of exercise for the day after Thanksgiving! Which is good because we usually start the day off with a little left over turkey and a piece of pie and end it with our official "Christmas Tree Day Molasses Cookies" that our kids make. We eat these while drinking cocoa and watching "A Christmas Story" after having decorated the tree. By that time we're all too exhausted to move so if anyone is hungry they get to pick meat off the turkey carcass and eat more pie. My kids told me a couple of years ago that it's their favorite day of the entire year. :heart:
  • KANGOOJUMPS
    KANGOOJUMPS Posts: 6,473 Member
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    I am going to wear black and drink whiskey
  • Timshel_
    Timshel_ Posts: 22,834 Member
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    Black Friday - whatcha doin'? whereya goin'?

    I will be far away from consumerism, in the high mountains of snow at a wonderful cabin, and walking deep in the forest looking for the family Christmas trees.

    Amen.
  • hananah89
    hananah89 Posts: 692 Member
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    I'll be in St. Maarten, but I still plan to check out the Black Friday deals online at Amazon and Best Buy.

    I've been there(twice)! Well 3 times, but the 3rd time was just on a cruise stop. Love that island.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    Black Friday - whatcha doin'? whereya goin'?

    I will be far away from consumerism, in the high mountains of snow at a wonderful cabin, and walking deep in the forest looking for the family Christmas trees.

    Amen.

    That sounds like my kind of day...we're actually hoping to start such a tradition once my youngest is a little older...probably a couple of years yet. My wife grew up selecting and cutting their own Christmas tree in the forest...I've never done it but the idea is very appealing to me...and I like the $5 license fee here rather than paying some guy $80 for a decent tree.
  • hananah89
    hananah89 Posts: 692 Member
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    I've only done black friday once, but didn't head out until 7am to Best Buy just to pick up a new phone for $1. If I shop at all it'll be for clothes. But normally the weekend of Thanksgiving my family heads up to our NC mtn cabin to get our Christmas Tree from a farm up there. My birthday is also on the 2nd so I'll be celebrating that.
  • pawnstarNate
    pawnstarNate Posts: 1,728 Member
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    Will be in the Deer Woods recovering from a very harsh cheat day the day before and hunting Bambi's Dad. I'm pretty ticked off at him because he stuck his tongue out at me on my game camera 2 weeks ago.
  • leslisa
    leslisa Posts: 1,350 Member
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    I hate black Friday !!! Unfortunately my sister's drag me out to a shopping center in Montgomery :grumble:

    I don't do shopping centers as a general rule - too many people. Just a stand alone store or one in a strip mall. Our tactic is:

    Know what we want.
    Walk in store
    Hubby or I gets into line
    The other person does the shopping.
    Check out
    Leave.
  • leslisa
    leslisa Posts: 1,350 Member
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    I typically avoid Black Friday like the plague, but I am in desparate need of a new TV. I'm going to be limited in where I can go since I have to leave for work by 7am, so I'll be scouring the ads to find my best option. Would consider going out on Thanksgiving if the deal is right, never done that before either. Cyber Monday never seems to have deals as good as Black Friday on TV's (that I've seen anyway).

    How big a TV? Dell and Amazon have them on sale on line Black Friday.
  • kellenas
    kellenas Posts: 154
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    No where, I refuse to shop and stand in line. I will be spending time trying to relax and workout. I'll either do most of my shopping online or wait until lines die down and see what's left.

    this
  • ChangingAmanda
    ChangingAmanda Posts: 486 Member
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    I have to work a half day and then go be lazy at home.

    I have never gone shopping on Black Friday (or the weekend after Thanksgiving for that matter). I don't do well in crowds and there's no deal I can think of out there that's worth risking my physical, emotional, or mental well being.

    As for shopping on Thanksgiving - nope, never have and probably never will (unless it's running to the grocery store to get some forgotten ingredient) but we are going out to eat instead of cooking at home. Just too much work for 5 people especially since there's usually tons of leftovers and we're all trying to cut back.

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