Surprisingly though, my mom and I have a tradition of shopping on Black Friday. Not so much because we're super eager shoppers trying to get bargains, but because it's so much fun to spend that time together. Usually by lunch time we are giggling together like a couple of school girls.
This year we met at Target a little after 6:00am (no 3:00am shopping for us). We got right in, but the store was PACKED! It was shoulder to shoulder, especially in the electronics section. We decided that nothing was worth that, so we looked around at the other areas of the store. Mom needed a few things for her dogs, so she picked those up and we headed to check out. The check out line snaked all along one whole side of the store! She decided she didn't need those things after all and we left Target (after going around the back of the store to try and get around the people waiting to check out).
We were so worn out after Target that we decided we needed Starbucks. :) I rarely go there (I can't justify spending that kind of money for coffee very often) so it was a special treat and I enjoyed every last drop of my skinny vanilla latte.
We then headed to Wal-Mart. By this time it was around 7:30 so I guess we missed all the crowd. We saw lots of smiling faces and didn't have any trouble finding what we wanted (I wasn't buying a TV or video game system so maybe that's why). Every check out lane was open and we were out of there in record time. I take back all those mean things I've said about shopping at Wal-Mart. :) Unfortunately I can't tell you about the good deals I got there because my kids might read it, but let's just say I'm almost done shopping for them.
Of course, I couldn't shop on Black Friday without hitting CVS. I got Aussie shampoo and conditioner, 2 bottles of Gatorade, Garnier Nutritioniste facial cleansing wipes, Colgate Total toothpaste, Maybelline Mineral Power foundation, Cover Girl powder, Sally Hansen nail polish, Loreal lip gloss, and a Hershey's chocolate bar all for about $9 and I earned over $28 in ECBs for next time.
Did you venture out for Black Friday?
You can find other Black Friday posts at Money Saving Mom.
I'm at my folks' house for a while and we didn't think of anything worth venturing out for on Black Friday. I'll see what sort of Cyber Monday deals I can find on Amazon tomorrow, maybe. We did most of our shopping for the grandparents, in-laws, etc before Chatty and I left, so that will make things easier. That's the nice thing about moving to a whole 'nother country - everybody back home will just get a box of treats in a language they can't read. haha
ReplyDeleteBlack Friday?? Hmmm, we don't have that here, but it sounds as crazy as Boxing Day (26th Dec), when every store has a mega-sale, and people are all fighting to return unwanted Christmas gifts, etc...shudder, I stay at home!
ReplyDeleteGlad you got some great bargains though! :)
I sure did! My best deal was a prelit 6.5 foot christmas tree for $25 and two potted prelit trees for my front porch, 2 for $20. SO excited!
ReplyDeleteI stayed home, it was my birthday and I didn't want to fight Christmas shoppers...I just wanted to relax. I did go out today and I still found some good deals. I found girls pjs for $4 at wal-mart and a few of the toys in my cart were on sale too. I spent $146 and I am more than half done! I make a very detailed Christmas list and stick to it every year, if I didn't make the list I could see myself buying too much.
ReplyDeleteI AM one of the crazies that gets in line at WalMart or Target at 3:30 a.m. to buy the latest gadgets. :-) My sister got a Kitchenaid mixer for $130 and a 32" LCD HDTV for $388. I am not going to post what I bought for the kids in case they read this, but I got the way cool Kodak Camera with a 12x zoom for $150 for me! I absolutely love it and to me, it was definately worth waiting 1 1/2 hours for. The lady standing next to me was waiting that whole time for a robe. Now to me that was crazy, but I guess she really wanted that robe. One year I was in line with a lady who was waiting in line to save $2 on a Magnadoodle! lol But when you are looking at saving hundreds of dollars on a flat TV or a kitchenaid mixer or a game system or a camera, then heck yes I'll be in that line. I have a great time and have never had to knock over a baby stroller or punch an old lady! ROFL! Most people are very helpful in fact.
ReplyDeleteRetroHousewife
I went online ahead of time to preview sale items. Not a whole lot I couldn't live without. So I decided to stay home. My niece got inline at wal-mart at 2:30..
ReplyDeleteI refuse to go out early on Black Friday! last year my mom and I went, but didn't get to the stores until about 9 am. This year we decided to go on Saturday instead. It was great, no crowds. Yes, we missed some of the huge sales but for me it's worth spending an extra bit just to avoid the craziness of the crowds!
ReplyDeleteWe were travelling, but managed to stop at an outlet mall. The deals weren't that great, except for in the high end stores like Coach, and still that's no deal for this pocketbook.
ReplyDeleteIt's so wonderful though that you spent that time with your Mother. Those are experiences worth treasuring.
Blessings for your week!
Black Friday. What is that then? Is it where shops have mega sales?! And where did the name originate from?!?
ReplyDeleteAll these questions - sorry, but I am intrigued!!
You have a wonderful 'blogspot' by the way - I love it and have visited many times.
Thanks for all your sharing.
Black Friday, the name, is when retail stores come out of the red (or the negative) for the year and into the black (positive).
ReplyDeleteI had planned on getting up at 4:45 a.m. and going to Target, but I ended up not getting any sleep the night before and figured sleep was more important than any item I wanted to buy. I also know that that certain item will be on sale again, so it's not like it was the end of the world. :-)
ReplyDeleteThe Black Friday ads weren't all that great. Many of the stores weren't offering gift cards or 40% off coupons or anything to the first 100 customers ect. Guess they had to cut corners in that department :-)
Blessings,
Dawn
i went to cvs for black friday but that was it. readabout how i "bought" $102 worth of products for 30 cents at my thriftymama7 blog :) you and i bought alike :)
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