Lovely blog, I had a great time looking around.

http://confessionsandscrap.blogspot.com/2008/11/tag.html

And no, no Black Friday for me. I went once about a decade ago and found out at the worse possible moment that my friend (who dragged me out in the first place) has panic attacks in enclosed spaces with lots of people. (gulp) I am lucky I didnt get in trouble for beating and shoving people out of the way while I was clearing a path for my friend so we could leave. DID I MENTION the two year-old babies I was carrying at the time in ADDITION to dragging my friend, who could barely walk and was gasping for breath?

THEN a few years ago we stayed by family Thanksgiving night… and I went with my sister-in-law and her family. We arrived before the stores opened, had lists of sales and lists of stores we planned to hit. By 7am we were done, tired, broke, and looking for good (cough) service at a breakfast place. I will never do it again! The sales were not worth it… and I spent more money in the end anyway. I do better to stick to my list and shop smart.

Anne

First, I check out the ads ahead of time, like the links you mentioned and make a list of what is on sale where, at what price. Then, I go through that list and pick out anything that can be purchased at wal-mart and go buy those items there on Black Friday. But you don’t have to go early, because they are items that are not on sale at Wal-Mart, just at the other stores. Then, when you get to the register, just pull out your other ads and tell the cashier you are using their price match policy. As long as it is exactly the same item, you will get the lower price.

But…If there are really great deals on items that you cannot buy at Wal-Mart, I buy it on Tuesday or Wednesday of Thanksgiving week and pay full price. Then, sometime on Friday, usually as late as the sale goes to avoid crowds, my husband and I get hot drinks and drive to however many stores. I take my receipt in to the customer service desk (usually not busy at all, everyone is at the registers) and get a refund (price correction) of the difference because most stores offer this service if the price goes lower within 30 days. My husband takes the car in a circle around the parking lot (avoiding having to find a parking spot) and then picks me up and we are on to the next store in 5-10 minutes.

I think my hubby went to Black Friday once, but never again because it was sold out. I certainly will not be getting up that early!

As for Black Friday shopping, I loved pre-kids. I don’t know what happened after having kids but I don’t really get into it. I’ll shop online on Black Friday and Cyber Monday but no store shopping that weekend.

I am trying to convince my family to go treeless again this year. (We didn’t actually go treeless, we just had a very small fake one!) I haven’t convinced them yet. (In case you didn’t know it, I am sort of a Bah Humbug.)

I do not do Black Friday either.

I hate shopping. I hate mornings. I would never combine the two!! LOL :-p