On the days leading up to last Thursday, Facebook and other social media sites were littered with posts urging consumers to stay home on Black Friday.
Out of respect of those employees who are forced to come to work the night of Thanksgiving, our social media acquaintances told us not to take part in this gross act of consumerism.
Come on now, this is one of my favorite nights of the year.
Sure, it is disturbing that an estimated 2.5 million shoppers will spend an average of $450 per person — that’s over one billion dollars spent in twenty four hours —on items marketed as reasonably priced.
Reasonably, meaning they are marked down to their actual worth.
And yes, it is unfortunate that there millions who have to work on a family-centered holiday.
But there are benefits to working on this holiday. Most companies, for instance, offer holiday pay or other monetary benefits.
The chaotic mess of people and early morning shifts are thrilling in themselves, driving a large number of employees to volunteer for the shifts.
Not to mention those who have been working on holidays back when Black Friday was just Slightly Grey Friday: movie theaters, supermarkets, 24 hour diners—no one shared graphics about them, they just did their jobs because it was their job.
That being said, it is in the best interest of any Black Friday shopper to be kind to the workers.
It is in the second best interest to wear sturdy, aerodynamic pants and a large, heavy weighted jacket.
Seriously though, it was cold.
But no one embarks on their Black Friday journey thinking about the weather.
So it was with the Target and Walmart advertisements in my head that I braved the crisp Baton Rouge air and joined my fellow shoppers.
Over the years I have carefully compiled a list of procedures to ensure the most fun filled, and productive Black Friday experience:
1. Never want something so much that you wait in line for it.
My enjoyment of Black Friday is not derived from being first in line for a 100 inch flat screen television.
Being a college student, of course, has helped keep me from waiting in line for big ticket items.
The real fun comes from the experience.
Watching moms fight over towels, dads fighting over power drills, and children up way past their bedtime, wide eyed as a woman shouts “THIS IS GETTING CRUCIAL, Y’ALL” on the toy aisle.
2. Always know what is happening in the store BEFORE you go into the store.
Friday night, we started out at Walmart, where the DVDs were as low as $1.97 for each Harry Potter movie. Afterwards, we headed over to Target, where the same DVDs were priced at well over $6.
I would have been outraged at the big corporations making such a profit off of unsuspecting consumers, but then I realized the problem was poor planning by consumers. They were allowing themselves to be taken advantage of—all they had to do was pick up a sale paper and walk across the street to Walmart.
Don’t allow yourself to be an unsuspecting victim.
3. It isn’t waiting in line if the line starts behind you.
The final stop of my Black Friday tour was Urban Outfitters for their annual 50% off all clearance items. I waited outside for two hours for the second year in a row in order to have the best pick of the lot—the first pick.
The wait itself wasn’t too bad, except for the subfreezing temperatures, and two of our group members being unresponsive for forty five minutes while on a coffee run.
Once inside my determination was rewarded—only after untangling six pairs of loafers to get the only size ten shoes in the store loose.
Now, those shoes are happily on my feet and I can rest for another 362 days until my favorite holiday comes around again.