For me, it's not the shopping I hate (although I do kind of hate shopping) — it's the crowds. I would pay money not to have to wade through a bunch of people and lines just in the name of good deals. And I guess in a way, I do, because I don't venture anywhere near stores or malls on Black Friday.
The Friday after Thanksgiving always seems like a day of promise to me. The Big Meal is done, the fridge is overflowing with leftovers so there's no need to cook, and all those consumed calories are just sitting there waiting to be burned. For some, it means the start of the Christmas season; more specifically, the first day you can put up your Christmas tree without looking too crazy. For me it's a day frozen in limbo — fall is fading and winter is coming, and while everyone around me seems to be frenzied with shopper's madness, I retreat and enjoy a quiet day of focus and rejuvenation.
So here's my list of things I plan on doing this year for Black Friday. If you're like me and are avoiding the madness, add your own plans in the comments below!
• Make a pot of coffee, and get a good playlist set up for the day. The jury's still out over whether or not this will include holiday music!
• Give the kitchen and dining room a thorough going over. Put chairs back where they belong, tidy up remnants of yesterday's feast, and square away all of the pots and pans and serving dishes.
• Cull toys. With Christmas gift-giving season right around the corner, now's the perfect time to seriously pare down what my kids play with (and donate what we don't.)
• Do a serious purge of adult items, too. At this point I know what winter coats and accessories we really use, and the extras can go to folks who really need them. It's also a good time to do some thinning out in other areas that are feeling messy and cluttered, whether it's a closet, a shoe rack, or electronic gadgets.
• Clear surfaces and de-clutter in preparation for holiday decor. Nothing gives me the shivers like picturing dumping more stuff (even if it is holiday stuff) on top of existing chaos. It's a great opportunity to not only clear away surfaces and floors and start with a blank slate, but to examine the things you currently have and either use them elsewhere in your home or give them away.
• Prepare a spot for the tree. I usually end up moving furniture here or there to accommodate our tree, and every year it works out a little differently. Now's a good time — while everything is clean and organized — to figure out where this year's tree will go and what's going to move to make room for it.
By now I will be feeling refreshed, revived from my turkey coma, and ready for the holiday season. Putting up Christmas decorations in the coming days will be a joy instead of a chore, and I'll already feel on top of things with a clean, organized home underneath my feet. It sets the stage for a day (perhaps even Saturday?) to listen to carols, put up the lights, and even start making a shopping list for friends and family — which I wholeheartedly plan to pursue online!
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I registered just to praise this article! I would also pay money not to trample over strangers in hopes of saving a little money on random stuff I don't need. Great ideas for Black Friday!
We are only starting to have Black Friday Sales in Canada (Thanksgiving was in October), but the thought of going to the mall to fight the crowds makes me shudder. Forget it. I'd rather stay home and get a start on my decorating and holiday baking!
Excellent post. I too, hate shopping.
My Christmas cookies are all baked (21 different kinds), the house is clean, the dishwasher from yesterday is empty, there are tons of leftovers. It's the perfect day!
I'm looking forward to a day of focus and rejuvenation in my studio. Enjoy, everyone.
Ah, I would totally do this if I wasn't at work (look at me work). We were local for Thanksgiving and it didn't seem necessary to take the day off when I can save it for something better.
I have a chair to finish recovering before Christmas. Should get it done this weekend if I'm diligent.
totally read my mind! the christmas music playlist is on, the coffee's almost done, and the rest are the EXACT five other things i want to accomplish today =)
I so much agree about not shopping today! I'm listening to our classical music station, drinking coffee, and going through a stack of papers on my desk. This day is such a lovely "in between" day that I have to myself.
AHH! Black Friday is creeping into Canada! :'(
I also hate shopping on those busy crazy days (here it's boxing day sales that drive people insane). I forgot about Black Friday this morning until I was on my way to work. I got off the streetcar at the Eaton's Centre (big shopping mall/area in Toronto) to transfer to the subway and noticed 3 people with huge television boxes, and seemingly dozens of other people with arms full of bags... AT 8:20 AM!!! WTF?
Anyway, this sounds really nice. I'm obviously at work because our thanksgiving was a month ago, but this seems like a good plan for boxing day.
Agreed. This sounds like a perfect way to spend the day!
This is the second-best day to be thankful for what you have and donate what you don't need. So refreshing!
I decided to let my little one pick our activities for the day. Her routine was disrupted all day yesterday because of Thanksgiving preparations. She kept tugging at my pants so I would sit down and play with her and I kept telling her, "Mommy needs just five more minutes sweetie." Five minutes turns into an hour so easily when you are cooking a big meal. So today we cuddled in our pjs and read stories during breakfast. She's napping now and I can't wait to see how she would like to spend this afternoon. This is much more fun than shopping. :)
As soon as I finish looking at AT and do the last couple of dishes from yesterday (I ran out of drying space last night!), I'm heading off to take a walk around the local lake. We're blessed with gorgeous, perfect, crisp, sunshiney Autumn weather. I plan to bring the leftover walnuts for the squirrels.
Then home for a nice hot shower and the rest of the day I'm spending in my cozy sweats reading, drinking tea, eating leftovers, and maybe watching a movie or two.
I'm very thankful to have such a lovely day to look forward to!
Started with the laundry that has piled up due to Thanksgiving preparations. Unloading the dishwasher and putting things away and then we will see where the day takes us. Absolutely no shopping today. My sister actually goes out for Black Friday and buys whatever my husband asks her to and then she delivers it right to our house.
I'm enjoying coffee while making the turkey stock for my soup. The whole house smells fantastic again today just from simmering broth. mmm.
Cull closets of never-worn clothing and arrange for Salvation Army pick-up. I still have my suit jackets with heavy shoulder pads from the 80s as well as my bow-tied blouses. Time to move them out!!
I actually love to shop, but I haven't left my house for the last 5 Black Fridays (well, I mean on that actual day, not the 365 in between!)
I get up early, have a list of things that I want to look for online and often find as many deals as I ever did in stores and I get to do a lot of relaxing things with the rest of my day. I think I got about six perfect holiday gifts this morning and that's probably five more than I'd have found in person.
Black Friday doesn't have to be a horrible thing wherein you're somehow forced to buy things you don't need. Sometimes it's a good chance to get stuff you do need to buy anyway....But I completely agree that it seems like a waste of the entire day to spend it out in busy malls.
Yes! Today is a perfect day to declutter and clean.
Create a pile of stuff, toys, winter clothes, what ever and take it to your local Salvation Army or thrift store.
If you don't want to be inside all day you can give the yard that final touch before winter really sets in. And hang the lights even if it's too soon for other decorations.
Or take a loooong walk.
ANYTHING to stay out of the stores.
I love this! I absolutely have no wish to shop today! I do feel like snuggling with my family and watching our first Christmas movie of the season! I love playlists as they keep me happily cleaning or keeps me happy whatever I am doing. I do plan to "clean" as well...just not today. Tomorrow.
I love this! I absolutely have no wish to shop today! I do feel like snuggling with my family and watching our first Christmas movie of the season! I love playlists as they keep me happily cleaning or keeps me happy whatever I am doing. I do plan to "clean" as well...just not today. Tomorrow.
No shopping here today unless shopping includes a $300 vet bill for a sick cat (who appears to be on the mend). I will spend the rest of the weekend getting caught up on cleaning and making the transition from fall to winter.
i never shop on this day, don't care for shopping anyway, and i like to get to talk to my sisters that i haven't seen since the middle of summer. and anyway, i bet every numnut in line for a cheap TV at Walmart already has a TV at home.
@kariwk -- Glad kitty is better. I love my cats and my vet. The bills, not so much. No shopping for me either.
I agree completely about not shopping on the Friday after Thanksgiving. A lot of people have to work, but if you don't, how about using the day to have fun? Cleaning & organizing are a kind of fun, but what about visiting a museum, going for a hike, taking a ferry ride, exploring an unfamiliar neighborhood, etc etc. I think you can still avoid the crowds but also treat it like a special day. I had to travel back from my Thanksgiving holiday but today (Saturday) I'm going for a long and aimless walk. It's too early for me, but a lot of families around here (New England town) use the day to go off to a Christmas tree farm and get their tree.
Hubby & I started our NO SHOPPING AT ALL Thanksgiving night night. He suggested we rearrange the living room furniture- NO, not replace, repaint, reupholster... just rearrange & rotate things in that we had stored in the garage & rotate out things that were looking worn (meaning we we were worn out from looking at them). Started at 7pm & after lots of laughs, a few tiffs & grumbles, a few mugs of fortifying hot chocolate & butter cookies, & lots more laughs we finally collapsed at 1am with a brand new living room! And the upside? Great time together problem solving & brain storming. Also got a better insight to his sense of esthetics. Not too bad, really. Money can't buy togetherness like that.
I never shop on Black Friday -- the name alone seems like a warning! Instead, since I usually have it off, that's my decorating day for the holidays. My porch, tree, mantle, dining room table, and foyer credenza are now ready for the season. (I clean as I go for Thanksgiving, so I've worked out sysems to make everything faster and painless for decorating.) In whatever free time I have now, it's gift making, cookie baking, and other activities that are less time consuming... (I'm with everyone who would rather pay moer and avoid the hysteria. It's only money -- if I can't afford the non-Black-Friday price of something, I just won't get it at all...)