Black Friday

I haven't gone out for Black Friday sales since high school. I used to go every year with my friend Lindsay and her mom. We made it an event. The night before I would stay the night at her house (after eating Thanksgiving dinner at home). We'd watch E.R. then go to bed only to wake up before the birds so we could make it to the sales first. Back then the crowds were not as crazy as they are now.

I never usually bought anything, though. I just like going. We had fun.

After high school, I stopped going. Lindsay moved away and none of my other friends were girly enough to enjoy the event. As a tomboy most of my friends were either also tomboys or actual boys. So I started hitting up Black Friday deals online. I made some insanely good buys, but it wasn't as fun as actually venturing out into the cold at 6am with coffee and donuts in hand.

This year I decided, "I'm doing it." I conned my mom into going with me as sort of a mother-daughter event. She was very hesitant, she hates shopping, but after several glasses of Bailey's I convinced her to accompany me. To be honest, I was a little hesitant myself. I hadn't gone physically shopping on Black Friday in a long time, and the crowds had not only become bigger and more out of control, they were sometimes so bad people literally got hurt. For instance this year a man died.

Caution to the wind!

When we began the long journey to the mall, I realized it wasn't that bad. Sure there was a little more traffic than normal, but not so bad that it was at a stand still. In fact the trip took only a couple minutes longer than had it been a normal day. Finding a parking spot was the biggest challenge. The lot was packed. We got lucky though, after a few minutes of driving in circles we saw someone exit the store and get into their car. Instant parking spot.

Inside it wasn't that crowded, either. Granted I wasn't looking at electronics -- the most popular items on Black Friday (I have all the electronics I need/want). We did however get stuck behind a hefty man walking slower than snail turd at one point. We had to wait until we got to an area where there were no little shops in the median to go around him because of how large he was. Other than that it was smooth sailing.

I'm glad we went. We had a lot of fun. We ate freshly baked pretzels, drank smoothies, played with puppies. We made a lot of good deals, too. I bought myself several pairs of designer jeans that I normally wouldn't have been able to justify spending money on, some books, and some jewelry. I even convinced my mother to buy some things for herself. I mean really, it's one day a year! Sure there will be other sales, but there is never another time of the year where you can get up to 80% off!

I always had to laugh at people who boycott Black Friday for that reason. Their argument is always that there will be other sales. I mean sure, waiting in line at midnight is a little zealous, sure, but you don't have to wait in lines. I never have. C'mon, willfully bypassing an 80% off sale is like willfully bypassing free money.

"I'm giving away $5000!"
"Oh, no thanks. I would rather not have 5000 more dollars."

Who are you kidding?