For the past few days, headlines on every news site have read "Get Your Black Friday Game Plan Ready" or "Best Deals for Black Friday." Ugh. Just the thought of it is enough to make me want to crawl back into bed.
I know that the jingling of cash registers on Black Friday is pretty critical for retailers... especially in our gimpy economy. But the thought of battling crowds for that last discounted item on the shelf... well, that's right on my not-to-do list along with things like water torture and wearing skinny jeans. Besides, unless you're a shopper with laser-like focus and an iron-clad willpower, you're pretty likely to come home with items that looked good under the huge sale banners, but don't look so great in the light of your own living room.
Most of the items on my shopping list are toys for my son. Even though he's swayed by every sale flier in the newspaper and every commercial he sees on TV, I want to make sure the toys I purchase for him are safe and made with quality. We all remember the scare a few years back when toys imported from China had dangerously high lead levels. Even though new laws are in effect to protect from that, toys with illegal levels of lead are still showing up in stores. There's no fool-proof way to know which toys are safe and which are not when you're a just a small fish in a crowded school of Black Friday shoppers.
That's why I'm sticking with American-made toys this year. Though I'm a little concerned about the concoctions my son is going to create with his Soda-Pop Science Kit, I'll gladly drink the nastiest mix of soda flavors rather than worry about things like carcinogens and brain development issues from lead exposure.
So this Friday I'm going to sleep in. I'm going to wear my pajamas for much longer than I should. I'm going to sip a cup of tea and play a board game with my son. It's going to be blissful... and there won't be anything black about it.
How about you? Are you planning to battle the crowds this Black Friday?
Resources: Washington Post, The Huffington Post
Jake, Age 3
Kalie, Age 5
2 comments:
I'm doing almost all of my holiday shopping online. I'd rather sit in front of my computer than get jostled by the crowds!
I was at the stores at 5 a.m. this morning and half of the items I wanted were already gone. It was not worth the effort! I did find a few deals, though.
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