SusanCarrollHome.com

First let me say I’ve never been a big fan of Black Friday or the hysteria is produces in the hundreds of thousands of shoppers who celebrate it. And even though I don’t join into the event I understand why many do.

As I see it, the 3 types of people targeted by the merchants for this yearly “Christmas” event are:

1. Those living on a limited budget who want to get as many gifts as they can.

2. Those who want to get 1 of the hottest Christmas gift items and are afraid there won’t be any left after Black Friday.

3. Those who just plain love to shop.

Now in my defense I will tell you I don’t have unlimited Christmas money and I do like giving Christmas presents as much as anybody. I also have been known to search for the last available hot gift item after Black Friday a few times. And while I don’t live to shop I do like it.

I also have to admit that I’ve gotten up in the middle of the night twice to accompany others who wanted to be 1 of the first people in the door. Both times those I accompanied got what they were after and both times I came home with a migraine even though I wasn’t 1 of the avid shoppers. I did manage to pick up a few items while saving a place in the long check out lines.

And here’s what I learned from my Black Friday shopping experiences:

1. It’s very stressful and not a good way to end Thanksgiving or start Christmas. If you’re lucky enough to get most or all of the items you were after it is much less stressful than for those who didn’t. However fighting the crowds while worrying about whether or not you’ll get there in time causes stress.

2. It’s exhausting. Getting up early when you are already tired from celebrating a big family holiday the day before means less sleep which causes exhaustion. And if you happen to be the one who hosted the Thanksgiving dinner you come home from your Black Friday shopping to a kitchen and house in desperate need of cleaning.

3. It brings out the worst in people. Instead of wishing everyone a Merry Christmas, 99.9% of the shoppers are too worried and anxious to even be polite. There’s lots of pushing, shoving and cutting people off. It’s not a great beginning for what’s suppose to be the time we celebrate love and caring.

4. Most of the shoppers spend more than they’ve planned. They get caught up in all the great deals and decide to save even more money by spending more.

5. It’s another day to feel sorry for those who have to work. While I try to never go out on a major holiday sometimes I must. Like yesterday we needed to stop for gas to make our trip home after spending Thanksgiving with our daughter. I feel bad for those who have to work and always apologize for having to come in and thank them for being there. I can’t imagine how bad it must be to get up early the day after Thanksgiving and face the tired, stressed out and in a hurry Black Friday shoppers. Imagine what it must be like to be required to be polite and give the little “Do you want to get a store card” speech to every shopper and being loudly criticized by the current customer and those waiting in line.

Will there ever be an end to the frenzied Black Friday madness?

Probably not in my lifetime since we are a country trained by the adverting media to be consumers and shoppers.

Thankfully though my days of having to attend Black Friday events are over since my sister and daughter no longer feel the need to attend. And while I know many others will continue to be drawn to the Black Friday sales one of my biggest wishes it that Black Friday shoppers would remember why they are shopping and use that time to spread a little Christmas spirit to others.

To Your Success,
Susan

P.S. One of the ways I try to spread the Christmas spirit is by giving to several charities that collect Christmas toys and food for those less fortunate. So the next time you’re out please pick up a couple of extra non-perishable food items to donate to your local food bank. And if you didn’t overdo your Christmas budget too much please consider giving to 1 of my favorite charities…

Find a Local Toy Drop-Off Location
Donate Online