At BookLocker.com and WritersWeekly.com, our employees get Thanksgiving AND Black Friday off as paid holidays. Yeah, I don’t know what I was thinking when I did that, either. No, I’m not talking about the paid part. I am happy to do that. We have GREAT folks and we do whatever we can to keep them! I’m talking about the workload part.
While things are slow here on Thanksgiving, we still receive emails, article submissions, and much more on that day. So, if we take Thanksgiving off, our in-boxes are a bit fatter (like our butts!) on Black Friday.
Giving the employees Black Friday off as well means I’m online all day handling the influx while our employees are spending time with family, or doing that insane Black Friday shopping thing. I absolutely REFUSE to do that. Several years ago, a relative (I won’t say who) dragged me to Toys R Us for that. And, that cured me of any smidgen of desire to shop on that day.
Here’s how it went:
We arrived and there was a line of thousands of people wrapped around the building. I’m not exaggerating.
Police were there and one woman was shouting at them. She wanted a better place in line (something about a medical condition). Other people were yelling at her.
I turned to my relative…
“I’m not doing this. Let’s go.”
“No! We have to stay! I can get a Power Rangers set for $5.00 off!”
“For cryin’ out loud, I’ll GIVE you five bucks. Let’s go.”
“But there must be other great deals in there, too! I HAVE TO GO IN!!”
“You’re absolutely nuts! Did you eat too much turkey?”
“I’m not leaving.”
“Fine, take a cab.”
My relative followed me to the car, arms crossed, head hung low, and didn’t speak to me for the rest of the day.
Aaaaaand, that was the day I decided to NEVER leave home on Black Friday AGAIN!
I hope all of you are having a safe and loving holiday weekend with your families. And, I hope you’re all still speaking to each other! 😉
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Angela Hoy lives on a mountain in North Georgia. She is the publisher of WritersWeekly.com, the President and CEO of BookLocker.com and AbuzzPress, and the author of 24 books.
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Nine years ago I was diagnosed with an incurable auto immune disease and have to avoid any germ that might come near. So out went the restaurants, shopping sprees, movies etc. In some ways this was a blessing. I found that the food cooked at home by my talented son, the gifts he and I make for others, and selecting things from my huge collection of books and antiques as gifts now for those I care about is far more productive, fun and appreciated then would be some credit card gift card, or latest poorly made item from the store. Why wait until I have moved off the planet to bestow some of those things to those I care about. Sure, I collect so I like to possess, but I can see these things when I wish, and I get great satisfaction from seeing my friends and family enjoy my special items as much as I have.
I avoid all sales unless I stumble into those by accident. I. Hate. Shopping. Worse. Than. I. Hate. Crowds.
Or is that the other way around?
The Boxing Day sales get my cackle hormones going — a lot of the stuff they get rid of oops I mean sell, is damaged . If you read under it, it will tell you it is refurbished or whatever the word is.
Reading your article on this not so blessed event reminds me of my experience as well.
I did Black Friday once with my mom. It is something everyone has to do once in their lives — like climbing Mount Everest. Traffic was snarled near the stores and lines were mind-blowing long. To top all that off, in Minnesota, that late in the season, there are bone-chilling weather issues to deal with as you huddle in line.
The bell rang and we finally got to stamped through the door, carried along by the momentum of the rest of the folks — thank God we were finally in a warm place! Raced to the first ‘50% off’ sales bin we gazed at all the marked down things we did not need as we watched shoppers fight over just about any piece of flotsam you could imagine. In short, we were in and out of that store in under 30 minutes.
We earned out Black Friday badge of courage – enough for one lifetime.
Angela, You mean you don’t want to get in the crazy rush for Black Friday deals? After all, it’s almost un-American not to max out your credit card and spend the whole next year paying it off, interest included. Remember, after 9/11 Bush said the way to help was to get out and spend lots of money during the holidays. Good for you, Angela, I’m with you 100%. Christmas is about more than spending. Gatherings of family and friends, cooking great meals, and baking yummy cookies is my way to celebrate. Keep up your good work, I appreciate your emails. Judy Pearce
Hi Judy,
I agree with you, too!! A few years ago, we gave away 95% of our belongings and moved onto a boat. We’ve been practicing minimalism every since! 🙂
Big hugs,
Angela
P.S. For laughs, we watched a compilation of Black Friday mayhem videos taken yesterday. Don’t these people realize how IDIOTIC they look?!?!