What would intentionally make people enter into this chaos? What would drive people to get up before the crack of dawn and push through throngs of people for one pair of $.99 gloves? It’s called Black Friday and an estimated 128 million people participate in this wacky deal filled shopping day. For 2011, Black Friday will fall on November 25th.

For a small minority, this concept is all about the fun. Hanging out with family and friends while making a dent in their holiday purchases. For most of us, we sacrifice our sleep and mental health in order to save some money. Yes, we are driven to undesirable traits all in the name of savings. After spending 10+ years attacking this shopping day along with my Mom, I can say that great deals are typically offered on Black Friday. Will it be worth the extra time and effort on your part? That’s such a subjective experience that I can’t take a stand on it. But for me, I would say “absolutely-yes.”

There is a new trend this year. Midnight shopping. Typically, only a few stores (namely Walmart) would open exactly at 12:00. This year will be different though. So far, Target, ToysRUs, Gap, Banana Republic, Macy’s, Best Buy, and Kohl’s have joined the midnight opening. I suggest a long nap after eating your turkey on Thanksgiving.

…more

I really do. I love Cyber Monday! For those who do not know, Cyber Monday is the first Monday after Thanksgiving. Did you know that Cyber Monday has surpassed Black Friday in terms of millions spent? It is also the biggest online shopping day of the year.

Whether you are a Cyber Monday virgin or a seasoned veteran, this day needs to have a plan of attack. You shouldn’t just shop casually on this day when there are such fantastic offers available. Here are my tips for the Cyber Monday attack. Note that several ideas overlap with my suggestions for Black Friday. What can I say? Good ideas need to be shared.

1) Before Cyber Monday rolls around:

…more

For me, Black Friday is solace.

Definition of Solace:

-verb to provide comfort, console, or cheer (a person, the heart, oneself, etc.)

Why am I am using the word solace as a describer of Black Friday? After all, this day is synonymous with hair pulling chaos. Crazy people duking it out for the last pair of fuzzy socks. Throngs of people who stop at nothing to grab a deal. Solace is my acrostic for Black Friday. (Acrostic is a fancy word for a writing where each letter spells out a message.)

S is for Strategy:

Strategy begins early in the morning when the gigantic Thanksgiving newspaper arrives filled with ads galore. Or even earlier when the Black Friday specials are leaked online. Blackfriday.info is a helpful site for this. Remember to research the exact products that interest you beforehand, reading reviews and comparing prices. Standing in the store on Black Friday is no time to be making these decisions.

…more