Black Friday is Coming

Christmas Shopping the Day after Thanksgiving

I know, I know, you are still trying to get ready for tomorrow's Thanksgiving feast and don't want to hear about Black Friday. For those readers who may not be accustomed to U.S. holidays and traditions, or you may just live off the grid, another famous tradition in this country is the day after Thanksgiving, which is commonly referred to as “Black Friday”.

This day is traditionally one of the busiest shopping days of the years and for many signifies the first day of Christmas shopping.

While the term black Friday was originally used to represent the day in which retailers returned to profitability many who work in the retail industry use this term as a way to describe the crowds and chaos which accompany Christmas shopping on the day after Thanksgiving.

Likewise consumers expect significant sales to go along with the large crowds, which flock to stores, camp out the night before to be the first ones in the door and often fight each other over the last toaster on the shelf.

For many shopping on the day after Thanksgiving it is a tradition, which wouldn’t be missed for the world. These individuals look forward to the sales and starting their shopping as a way to get into the Christmas spirit.

These individuals can be counted on to arrive before the malls and shopping centers even open to get a great parking spot, to make multiple trips to their cars to drop off packages before returning to the shopping area to make more purchases and to almost literally shop until they drop.

These are the individuals that retailers count on each year to boost their quarterly earnings and to help them report profitability for the year.

Those who enjoy Christmas shopping on the day after Thanksgiving feel this way for a number of different reasons. Some enjoy shopping on this day for the tremendous sales, which are inevitable.

Still others enjoy shopping on this day because they like to take things one season at a time and figure now that Thanksgiving is over; it is time to start focusing on Christmas.

There are even others who like shopping on this day for the excellent people watching opportunity the day presents (trust me, the only reason I would get out on Black Friday would be to watch the craziness that takes place).

Whether or not they get any actual shopping done these individuals flock to shopping malls on the day after Thanksgiving because they know there will be tons of other shoppers to observe.

Finally there are those who start their Christmas shopping on the day after Thanksgiving because of a sense of tradition. It is these individuals who have simply always started their Christmas shopping on this day out of habit.

Their parents probably started Christmas shopping the day after Thanksgiving and they simply learned this is the day to start Christmas shopping. They will also likely pass on the habit to their own children.

Conversely there are other shoppers who absolutely refuse to step foot inside a mall or shopping center on the day after Thanksgiving (ME). For these shoppers trying to get any shopping done on this day is near impossible.

They are willing to sacrifice the opportunity to buy some items as gifts at excellent sale prices just to avoid the cattle stampedes of shoppers who swarm the stores on this one particular day.

However, it is important to note that just because these shoppers avoid shopping areas on the day after Thanksgiving does not mean they don’t enjoy great sale prices on the Christmas gifts they purchase.

These shoppers may take advantage of sales throughout the year to accomplish their Christmas shopping within their set budget. Or, like me, you may do most of your smaller items, stocking stuffers, etc. the week after Christmas to set up for next Christmas and then only concern yourself with the bigger gifts as it gets closer.

There are still others who typically do not do any shopping on the day after Thanksgiving but these individuals do not necessarily avoid the malls and shopping areas on this day either.

Whether you are an early Christmas shopper, a last minute Christmas shopper or just a people watcher, you likely understand it is appropriate to expect large crowds in malls and shopping centers on the day after Thanksgiving. It is up to you to decide whether or not you choose to join the shoppers on this hectic day.

Now you are probably asking why I posted all of this. First, I want to be the first to wish you a Merry Christmas season, second I want to remind you that tomorrow is Thanksgiving, so try not to celebrate being thankful on one day only to follow it up by being ungrateful the next. If you are getting out and about on Black Friday, remember that every retail worker, from the store clerk to the server at the restaurant is going to be stressed that day and swamped, so give them a little slack. Also, thirdly, I want to remind you to be safe if you are getting out and about for this sub-holiday tradition that we call Black Friday.

Take care.