Entry#6: Black Friday Shopping

 The holiday madness has begun. There is 18 days left until Thanksgiving and 18 days for Black Friday (Thursday) sales. Every year my husband and I say we will not be caught up in all the fuss with the new sales, but we cannot help it. Especially when our kids already gave us their Christmas list and every year, we tell the kids that we leave Thanksgiving festivities early because we go to the north pole. We actually go shopping while they stay with grandparents playing board games. However, this year with a sixteen-year-old and an eleven-year-old we will need to be more cleaver.

Usually the sales consist of Thursday and Friday sales, some stores call these sales “Doorbusters”.  This year most stores including Target, Walmart, and Best Buy will start their sales at 5pm Thanksgiving Day. I know! Talk about interrupting family time. However, I plan on completing most of my Christmas shopping so my kids will be fine without us for a couple of hours.

Some adds are already posted online, click on the following link to check them out: https://blackfriday.com/ads/black-friday

If you are planning on part taking in this eventful activity, I suggest having a game plan. Below is game plan my husband and follow every year for the past 13 years.

• First step is look through the store ads and select the items you would like to purchase.
• Sometimes you might have multiple store ads you want to purchase items from.
• Second step is to gather your crew or squad (what kids are calling it nowadays) and decide which stores you will need to go to first based on items, time sales start, and locations on GPS. 
• Your team can consist of siblings, in-laws, cousins, friends, older niece and nephews.
• Third step is to decide roles for everyone on the team (I know we do not play 😊).
• One team will oversee video games, another electronics, another toys, and another some sorts of clothing for the kids. Someone on the team may want a big screen TV (there is always someone every year) that person will be responsible for getting their own TV. 
• Fourth step is to regroup to review everyone understands their own responsibilities.
• Fifth step is on that night if another sale does not start until 12am or 5am on Friday, come back home to recharge and nap if needed.

If  you do not plan on going shopping and decide to wait until Friday morning, remember to look through the return carts because chances are someone decided not to purchase something while in line. I see it all the time, and with that we wish you "Happy Shopping"!