Anyone have any "Day after Thanksgiving" shopping stories?
825277
I live in Canada, so my Thanksgiving was a month ago, but my friend's brother was in NYC and went shopping there.  He got stuck in traffic for three hours to go three blocks and buy a box of tampons for his girlfriend.  He didn't want to walk because he was afraid he'd get lost, lol.
884104
Black Friday shopping all the way!!!  I love getting up early and getting it done in one day.
923952
Oh yeah.  I got a mail-order catalog in the mail the other week that really triggered some old memories and yearnings in me.  The Uncle Wiggly game...clackers (remember those glass balls on the string you would bang together?)...Lincoln Logs, Tinker Toys.  Then my friend and I started remembering other things together...like rock candy...remember around Christmas when they would come out with the colored candy shapes on lollipop sticks?  Then we got to talking how it's a miracle we survived...we had no carseats, no bicycle helmet or kneepads.  No soft wood chips under our swing sets or jungle gyms...we had concrete!  Which reminds me...I wonder when is the last time kids played Spud or Mother May I?  Oh yeah...I miss those good ol' days!
958070
have you tried the supermarket? local bar?
849863
I absolutely agree! I found that most items were barely marked down, and most that were appeared to be stuff they weren't able to sell earlier in the year... As for the lines, some store stop their sales at a set time and what we found out (after waiting in a line for 90 minutes to pay) was that if you didn't buy what you wanted before the time  (for instance 11:00) and were still in line at that time, to bad... they didn't care you didn't get the sale. I have to wonder if the cashiers were slow and if there weren't as many so that the stores wouldn't have to give so many people sales. \n\nI like you in the past have finished my shopping on Black Friday, this year, I'm not even close, and am watching all the ads still. I am beginning to think I will just do ALL of my shopping online after this experience.\n\nHave a GREAT day and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
737482
yeah it has to be at least the day after thanksgiving
829838
You could shop online.  Alot of stores offer the discounts on Thanksgiving day if you shop online.
743093
Right after Thanksgiving
986160
the best.....http://blackfriday.gottadeal.com    they have every store listed and all the sales.  Have fun!
795945
I went to Wallymart, Best Buy, Target, and the grocery store before noon, and got all my Christmas shopping done, except for a few things ordered from Amazon.com.\n\nTa-da. \n\nThe lines sucked, the traffic sucked, and there were so many people crammed into the walmart that I almost ran over like a dozen people with the cart. Stores need traffic laws on Black Friday, dam nit.
939706
My Thanksgiving Day is full of so many of life's blessings -- and I'm not speaking those of monetary value -- that I'm grateful just to be there with my husband, mom and her husband and sister.  I say all my thank you's to my Higher Power before I embark on my journey to fill my 3 day dietary quota and when we're all there, you can bet I soak up every minute of being there in one piece and you're damn right--be thankful people!  And I'll be glad to watch whatever football game is on because I have terrible reception on my home TV.  :)
909454
I didn't even go shopping.  I was going to wait all night with my boyfriend at best buy, but then I got sick so I stayed home.  I did not have fun last year doing it and probably wouldn't have had fun doing it this year.  Such is life..
902847
I actually did.  I waited until all the crazy 5 a.m. people went home and went about 4 p.m.  I got my dad his bday present (12/22) and spent less than I figured I would.  Yeah1! =)
822652
Thanksgiving's at my family's old house used to be crazy.  Family members from all over the US would gather in the small farmhouse, cooking dinner, playing football, and reminicse by the fire.  I remember fondly a Thanksgiving eight years ago.  I was stuffing the turkey and my mom was making pumpkin pie.  We didn't have a mixer, so she took out the blender and said "Yeah, you blend" I told her she was crazy and went back to fixing the turkey. My cousin walked in on my mom trying to make pumpkin pie in the blender and said "Ohh la la", out of suprise.  She looked at me with a serious look on her face "Lets sit in front of the fireplace" she said.  Just then, the lights suddently went out.  The phone rang.  It was my cousins. Due to the massive storm that had hit the area, they wouldn't be able to make it. "Bill Bailey won't you please come home", my mom jokingly told my cousins on the phone.  I heard my aunt screaming from the other room at my six year old cousin " you are not going to watch tv as we eat dinner." He responded by having a temper tantrum because he didn't understand power outage.\n\nDespite the power outage, the stove was gas so we were able to have a beautiful candlelight feast without the tv on or cousins watching tv.
44392
One Thanksgiving Day, I cooked a complete dinner for my family which included five children and cooked an extra complete dinner for residents of a detox. One freezing winter day, while entering a t-stop (subway)in Boston I noticed several homeless men huddled in a corner. I went to McDonald's and bought them hamburgers, fries, and hot coffee. Both incidents are true. You can pick the nicest one of the two.
855674
This year, my husband and I decided to do most of our shopping online. That way, we wouldn't have to deal with all the crowds, the pushing, the shoving, etc. We made a plan of what we would buy and for whom, and it ended up being a theme this year to get everyone's gifts (except the kids' toys) through a charity or organization. So far, we have given to Beads for Education (they make beaded items to sell to raise money for girls in Kenya to go to school) Autism Speaks, the ASPCA, Jamestown Museum (they raise money for their archaeological research in Jamestown, Virginia) Big City Mountaineers (they take inner city kids camping, fishing, ect.) Breast Cancer Research (we bought items through Avon...100% of their profits go to the research) the American Cancer Society, College of the Atlantic (they "adopt" whales to people for a year, and the money goes to research on finback whales) World Wildlife Foundation, The Make a Wish Foundation and the USHS. It feels good to give to these organizations who could use the money more than my sister needs a new pair of cheap wal-mart earrings, and you can still get something in return to put under the tree. There are soooooo many more organizations out there that need help, and now is a good opportunity to pitch in. Not to mention that I'm almost done with my christmas shopping, and I didn't have to leave my computer....plus, if you have family members that won't be here this Christmas, you can have something shipped directly to them. My daughter even got into the spirit, and cut a foot of her hair off to give to Locks of Love....and she's only 8 years old...I'm so proud of her for being such a good person.  So, as for being "ready" for the upcoming holidays... I'm about halfway there (I still haven't decorated the house) But I took this opportunity to perhaps give others ideas that would "pay it forward" this year. Good luck to everyone!
769870
This year, I'm a little sad.  My husband was reactived by the US Army in January and is deployed to Afghanistan.  My family couldn't make the trip and my work/school schedule didn't mesh with flying "home".  So, tomorrow it's just me and the pets for Thanksgiving.  I did manage to find a little turkey and get ingredients for my favorite side dish.   It could be a lot worse, so I'm thankful for what I have.  I'm going to use the day to relax, no homework no housework.  Just the cats, dog, and a turkey.