The Curse of Black Friday

I have always hated the thought of 'Black Friday' shopping. Crowds just aren't my style, and I have a hard time believing the deals are really that good. My first experience with this cursed event was my first year in college. I had to have my wisdom teeth pulled, and it was either over Thanksgiving break or Christmas break... so I opted for missing out on turkey. I had them pulled the day before Thanksgiving, then had a wonderful day after. I wasn't in a lot of pain, and was even able to chew most of the dinner items, so I didn't feel left out. That evening, my roommate contacted me - depressed. She's from Washington, but didn't have a way to get home for the short holiday. She ended up with her aunt in Provo, and was hating it! Since I was feeling so much better than expected, I invited her to spend the rest of the weekend with us. She and my mom hit it off, and got to talking about the shopping going on the next day. My mom always went out, so she was happy to have some company.

Early the next morning, we were running through WalMart, trying to find everything on the list. But I was tired. And not too into the spirit of the day. And, appearantly, was not as recovered as I thought. I started complaining, and my mom decided to put me in the check out line (it was about 1/2 mile long at this point, so they would fill my cart while I was slowly making my way to the registers. I wasn't even halfway through this line, when my mom noticed that I was green, green... looking dangerously close to puking. My poor mom had to abort the mission and take me home (we lived very close) and got back just in time to pay for her meager lot of items.

That was my first experience. I was 18. My next experience was last year (mere weeks before my 33rd birthday). See, I got back on the horse. It just took me fifteen years or so :)

Last year, my sister Kristy talked me into joining their expedition. We were in Utah for the holiday, and I'd never been out with her. Now, in Utah, they started something new at one of the malls the previous year. The mall opened at midnight, and about 1/2 the stores opened with incredible deals (this is all part of the talking me into it speech). She went on about all the great deals the Gap and others had to offer, and she was so excited because 3 malls were doing the same thing this time, so we just HAD to go! Well, I wasn't too excited about this. Max was only 2 months old, and Corey would have to do some night feedings if I was to join the ranks, and I still wasn't too gung-ho. Corey pushed a little, because he knew how hard it was for me to miss out on fun things my family does together. So I agreed.

We tried to nap in the evening, but sisters do not nap when we only see each other once or twice a year. So, about 11:oo, we bundled up and got in line at the mall. It was crazy! I couldn't believe how many people were willing to participate in this kind of mayhem. I figured we'd do the mall, then I'd head home and they (4 of my sisters and my mom) would work on the rest of their lists. Little did I know, Kristy figured once she had me out she wasn't going to take me home! The mall didn't have nearly the store cooperation they had the year before (at least in the stores I was interested in), so I felt the night was a bust... let's hit the sack. Oh, no! We had to go to Kohl's, they had KitchenAids for cheap, and they were opening at 4:00. This was at 2:00, when we were having this conversation. Enjoying the company too much, I finally agreed to do Kohl's. So, at 4:00, the doors opened to a frigid mass of people, myself included, and we ran like crazy. We couldn't find the right mixers, so I went scouting. I found a group of people hauling away KitchenAids like they were crazed, and one woman just staring at the box trying to decide if she really wanted it. I just reached around her and grabbed it... you snooze, you lose baby! Now I was getting the fever. This is fun! We all got what we were looking for (I flew in for Thanksgiving, remember, limited luggage space and all) then got in line. This was when the fever died. The line was CRAZY!!! Three or four registers at the front of the store, and we were in the line that wrapped all the was around to the back, then up the middle again. Suddenly these deals didn't look so great (since they weren't for me, I could afford to say that). My mom courageously offered to do the check out, and sent us to WalMart for their 5:00 opening.

WalMart. Back to the scene of horror. I tried to back out, claiming that I needed to pump, claiming exhaustion, claiming possible alien abduction... whatever, just so I didn't have to face Wally world with all the crazies! Too bad, my sister said, it's just across the parking lot and too close to opening to take me home. Crap! Strangely, WalMart ended up being the best Black Friday experience we had... go figure. It was a 24 hr store, so they were open and doing business. You just weren't able to touch any of the specials till they announced it. So, people were just standing around the areas of most interest to them. That meant, instead of 500 people rushing in the doors at once and going crazy finding what they are looking for, only about 20 or 30 people are diving into the piles... very little chance of bloodshed. Cool! We were in and out within 20 minutes, I kid you not! Awesome! After that, we just had Target (do the stores all get together to figure out how to stagger the opening times, making sure people can shop at each one of the openings?). That was alright, but it was 6:00 by this time, and I was beyond drained. I dragged in at about 7:00, just in time to feed Max, then crash for several hours of very interupted sleep.

All in all, way better than I thought it could be. Probably because I got to do this with my sisters, and that made it all worth it.

Now, if you're still with me (I'm totally rambling, sorry) I will come to the point of this whole post. This year, we didn't have any plans for Thanksgiving. Utah was too expensive, and Corey's mom and sister went to Vegas for the weekend, so there was no reason to go anywhere. Corey suggested we go to Nauvoo instead of sitting at home all weekend. I was pretty hesitant, until we found out 2 missionaries didn't have an invitation for dinner, so we had them over for a nice Thanksgiving dinner, then hit the road to Nauvoo. We pulled into the hotel parking lot around 10:30, and Corey pointed out that WalMart was in the same lot with us. "Hey, you could run over and get your Christmas shopping done tomorrow with all the sales!" Nice, just what I wanted to do. By myself. Again, with no room to bring anything home. I just shrugged him off. He mentioned it again as we were going to sleep, and I laughed at him. Unfortunately, I noticed that this was a 24 hr store, so it could potentially be an okay experience. NO! I don't want to go! But the deals... No, way! Walking around Nauvoo all day with no sleep because I shopped for the thrill of it was not my idea of a good time. This cycled through my mind, over and over again... all night long. I even checked the clock at one point, considering, but it was only 3:30. I went back to sleep. Next thing I know, Corey is standing over me saying he keeps dreaming about shopping, and figures he should just go and do it! So, Corey went to WalMart (he hates WalMart), on Black Friday (he hates crowds), & he spent a lot of money (he hates to spend money)! And I didn't get any more sleep, because I was waiting around for him to get back and see what he got.

He had fun... I know he did, even though he denies it. And he got some cool things for our family, so that's fun for me. So, I feel like the curse has been lifted, and I will consider doing this again if I have a buddy. I'd love to hear any fun, beating the next shopper to the punch, pushing yourself to the limits, Black Friday stories any of you may have. And happy shopping!