Friday, November 23, 2007

Shopping, Shopping, Shopping

When Thanksgiving draws near I obviously think about the great turkey dinner we will have and I take time to give thanks for my family and friends. But I also cannot wait until Thursday morning when the newspaper comes with the sale ads for Black Friday! I go through the ads and write down each store that I want to go to, what I want to get from each store, and the hours that the stores are open! I go to the stores and don't really shop. I get what I came for and I get in line!

Best Buy had a Sony laptop for $399 that usually sells for about $750! I really wanted to get that! So, after we had finished dinner, I sent Brian out to drive by and see how many people were in line. He came back and said that there were almost 100 people in line already with tents and everything! Wow! My chances of getting that computer were not even slim- they were just none! I saw on the news at 11pm that there were people camped out at Best Buy stores all over the area. At 11pm the first few people in line had been there about 18-20 hours already! Yikes!

So, I gave up on my laptop deal and concentrated on the other stores. Almost all the stores had long lines and many were in search of the Wii gaming system. I am glad that my kids aren't old enough to want the latest gaming system yet. But I guess there will come a time when I can no longer shop at Toys R Us for Christmas! Luckily, where we live Best Buy and Dick's Sporting Goods are right next to each other - one stop shopping for all four of my boys!

This year Kohls was opening at 4 am! Yes, I set my alarm clock for 3:30 am and I was at Kohls by 4am! Then, I went to stand in line at Toys R US which opened at 5 am. When I was finished there, I made it to Walmart which also opened at 5 am! Next on my list was Target and it opened at 6am - I was there by about 6:15. My last stop was at the mall which opened at 6 am! Then I was home by 7:30 to nurse Justin when he woke up! So from 4 am to 7:30 am I got just about all of my Christmas shopping finished! I did run out a little in the afternoon too!

I love shopping and Black Friday is a great excuse to shop all day - and get good deals too! I was lucky enough to get everything on my list! I really don't mind the lines and all the people. I love the spirit of the season and the holiday music blaring through the store's speakers! I have been going out on Black Friday for about the past twenty years or so. It first started with me joining my Mom and then as I got older, I went out on my own. I have even shopped early in the morning and then gone right to work by 9 am!

One of my favorite things about Black Friday, besides the good deals, are the first timers. I love looking at the shock on their faces when they see all the people. Or when they show up to a store that opens at 6am and expect to walk right in. They get such angry glares from people who point them to the back of line - that line that stretches through the parking lot! I would hate to see what happened to someone who tried to butt in line! Then the best look of shock and horror comes when they see the line to checkout which begins all the way at the back of the store! Happy Shopping!

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