The Black Friday Dilemma

So this Friday is the BIG Day….. the biggest shopping day of the YEAR! The best sales, the best deals, and a chance to get all of your holiday shopping done in JUST ONE DAY! Now while it’s true that for many years I wanted absolutely no part of it….the crazy crowds, the grabbing at the last item on the shelf, the general buying frenzy that ensues…..I eventually learned to embrace the fun of Black Friday when my sister-in-law Jill taught me the joys of leafing through the sale flyers on Thanksgiving Day, next to a roaring fire, with a glass of wine in hand, while the turkey roasts in the oven. Together we would start making our lists- highlighting the best prices on the items we were searching for, and noting the opening times of each store so that we could map out our early-morning shopping strategy.

Our plan was always to get up ridiculously early on that Friday morning (like 2:30am!), grab a cup of coffee, and maybe a leftover cinnamon roll from the day before, and head over to our first store. There was no showering, no “prettying ourselves up”… it was just get up and GO! We knew we had to be in line before the store opened so that we could get right inside to grab the doorbusters before the store ran out. (And I’ll never forget the time we couldn’t even find a parking space in the Target parking lot at 3am because it was already so packed!) We would rush around, get our shopping done, and be back home before the kids even got out of bed Friday morning! We’d have breakfast with our families, and then lay around the rest of the tackling the rest of our gift list online! It was joy, I tell you- pure shopping happiness and joy!

But this year? The retailers have completely LOST THEIR COLLECTIVE MINDS! Some stores are opening at 10pm on Thursday or right at midnight …. and some stores are even staying open all day on Thursday! What’s a Black Friday strategist to do? Nap on Thanksgiving and hit the stores Thursday night? Go to bed early and get up even earlier (say 1am) so that I can do my shopping and be home by 4am? And what about the stores that are open all day on Thursday? Experience has shown me that if you aren’t one of the first ones in line to get a great doorbuster deal (like a new TV, or whatever hot toy is in short supply) you’ll miss out…. so truly- this has created The Black Friday Dilemma!

So while I will be working overtime this week trying to figure this one out (ha ha)… I thought I would share with you some links to many of the great Black Friday ad flyers that will be in this Thursdays newspapers, courtesy of one of my favorite deal sites Living Rich with Coupons!

Best Buy’s Black Friday Ad- Best Buy will be opening at midnight -and plans to pass out tickets 2 hours prior to opening (I am guessing these are tickets to save your space in line, so that you don’t actually have to stand there for two hours.)

Kohl’s Black Friday Ad- opens at midnight

Old Navy Black Friday Ad- select stores open 9am-8pm on Thurs, all stores open at midnight. But read this flyer carefully. Some deals are for specific days only (as Old Navy normally does on Thanksgiving weekend). My other tip on Old Navy- is that I have always been able to find what I wish to purchase online- even the doorbuster specials.

Target Black Friday Ad- opens at midnight

Toys ‘R Us- opens Thursday at 9pm

WalMart Black Friday Ad-opens at 10pm Thursday (but some sales items start at midnight, and at others at 8am Friday)

I wish you good luck as you map out your endeavor! And if you have any great Black Friday tips to share- I would love to hear them!