Typical Black Friday Shopping Traps to Avoid and Make the Job Easier
Holiday shopping on Black Friday can be painful, but with a few techniques you’ll breeze through it easily. It may seem to some that the Holiday Season and all of the related shopping and stress are still a long way off. Well, News Flash! It really isn’t. Have you turned the pages on your calendar recently and been left wondering how time flies? Another couple of months down the line here and before you know it the cheerful season will be upon us.
In one respect you might be accurate . The needful preparation of gift lists, meals to make and holiday cookies to partake might not be far off, but the stress can be easier if you start planning now. Kids change everything, including Holiday plans.
The need to contemplate early is especially real for parents of new babies and toddlers. You have spent months speculating about trips to Santa, Christmas morning and sugarplum dreams. These first few Christmases spent with your infant and toddler are about as much fun as it gets. Don’t spoil it by letting the stress get in the way. Purchasing for and sharing the holidays with a child should be exciting! It can be!
I know from shatteringly bad events that lack of planning can spoil the season. I remember as a young mother getting geared up to get my Christmas shopping done. I contemplated each post-Thanksgiving day sale ad methodically . Up to that time I had no babies and felt no need to take on the crowds in the post-Thanksgiving madness .
I had yet to succumb to the flashy ads promising untold discounts in both dollars and time. What propelled me over the top and eventually kicked off a 5 am shopping spree was the ad featuring the perfect pedal bike for my son. It was attractive, and a full 25% off the sale price. This put the coveted selection in our price range. I knew he would just like it and only one thing stood in my way: the actual purchase of the selection .
With purse, cash and advertisement in hand I found myself shuffling out the door at 4:30 am on Black Friday, trying not to observe the pile of thanksgiving dishes still needing my attention. Dishes could wait, today I had a mission : get one of the kids pedal cars for my three-year old. I returned home later that day with the pedal toy and a vow that I’d never, ever venture farther than my kitchen during the day after Thanksgiving shopping madness.
In recent years I have reneged on my vow to never step toe out of doors during shopping hours the weekend following Thanksgiving. Now with a bit of careful organizing I look forward to 3 am suicide missions pursuingthe perfect tricycles for my twins.
I have created a few ground rules and have a much more rigorous preparation routine than the naive buyer who once spent three hours snarling and snapping over Radio Flyer Wagons. I’ll share my secrets! I am glad to. After all I am reformed and love my yearly shopping spree. Don’t we all want to share what we like with others? Look for articles to follow that walk you through the coordinating and execution of blissful Holiday shopping on Black Friday, no matter how many toddlers are in your life .
And if you are not wanting to go the crowd route at all, I suggest shopping online and skipping the crowds altogether!
This entry was posted on Thursday, September 18th, 2008 at 11:06 pm and is filed under Christmas Gifts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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