Why I Don't Like Black Friday

I'm a shopper at heart and I like to save money. You'd think I would be one to eat up Black Friday since a staple in my purse is my purple coupon holder always stocked with a Bed Bath and Beyond expired 20% offer.

This was the first year that I even contemplated going out on Black Friday. The only time I like to rise at 3am is if I'm getting on a 6am flight to somewhere tropical and warm. So, the idea of standing outside of Walmart at that ungodly hour to rush in and possibly get pepper sprayed by lunatics who fear you might be racing them for the $200 laptop, is not appealing to me.

But, this Thanksgiving was hosted by yours truly. While the other guests left, my mom, sis and I sat watching Elf, reciting our favorite lines...like "You sit on a throne of lies" or "You smell like beef and cheese", going through the circulars that we were blessed with through the super duper Thanksgiving edition of our lovely local paper, and digesting our Paula Deen Gingerbread Pumpkin trifle...the idea of going out at midnight popped into our heads.

Now, I'm not going to lie..the number one reason it appealed to me was not because I need a no name electronic product I had to have...but we had a secret weapon. My mom had a pretty in depth knee surgery recently. She's quite the trooper shuffling around our house  in her slipper socks with grippers on our slippery hardwoods because her bad daughter (me!) decided to clean the chairs with Endust and sprayed it on the chair which sat on the hardwood floor which made the floors the slipperiest suckers eva. That was a Thanksgiving epic failure. But, Mama bear was our secret weapon...not only is she a multi-talented trooper who's hobbling around with her cane...but she came to our house with a lovely Handicap parking permit. I know what you're thinking, we're one of those people who like to tote around the 95 year old Nana in exchange for a good spot..and you're sort of right...but in my defense...my mom wanted to shop and she's not even close to 95.

So, did we go out? No. Why? Because there was nothing I thought I needed that I would sacrifice my beauty sleep for, which God knows I need. We went over our reasons for not heading out in the wee hours of the morning and these were the major reasons we decided against it...

1. Most of the big sales seem to be Electronics. Mom needed a new 32" TV. However, all those that were on sale were brands we never heard of and don't trust.

2. The people who got out in public in their pajama pants and moccasin slippers bother me. Seriously, how difficult is it to pull on a pair of jeans.

3. The people who drag out small infants and little children also bother me. Hey parents..they'd rather be in bed at 3am, not in a stroller being toted to Target.

4. I don't have small children. I'm sure the majority of parents were in line at Toys R US to get some killer toy like the newest version of Tickle Me Elmo..yes I realize that was probably so 5 years ago that this statement is aging me.

5. All my Facebook friends seemed to have an obsession with Kohls. I must admit, I've never had the desire to buy anything in that store. It's probably my Grandma's favorite store, and while my Grandma is quite cool..we don't shop at the same stores.

6. The Old Navy leggings for $5 were appealing, but not worth standing in line for 40 minutes.

I may sound like Scrooge not embracing the kick off to the holiday season and I do think people who have the traditions of heading out with their sister or mom are great...but just not for me...all typed and said as I surf the Internet scooping up Cyber Monday deals left and right :)