What are your traditions for BF, other than saving money? Myself, my sister and my sister-in-law work out a game plan according to store openings and price comparing at Wal-Mart. We really work the system to get the best deals.

A friend and I meet at the Waffle House across from the Mall & Circuit City at 4am to eat breakfast and go over our notes as to what we are going to buy. Last year I cut the pictures out of ads of everything that I wanted to look for. I pasted them to paper and took them with me. It really helped when we got to Sears for a TV and DVD player that was on sale. While all of the other shoppers were frantically trying to find those 2 items I was able to go straight to the register and show her my copy of the ad. Both items had the sku listed so she was able to ring it up. I was the first one in line because I ran straight to the register.

I plan on doing that again this year.

Amie

I wear a christmas shirt (sweatshirt), jeans (although last year I wore christmas pj bottoms), my christmas sox, my santa earrings, and will never be seen without my flashing santa hat.

As for game plan, my mother in-law and sisters in-law go over the ads thanksgiving night. We decide which stores everyone wants to go and most of the time we go to those stores together. There has been a few times when we split up but for the most part we all go together. At 7:00 after we have been to about three stores we go to McD's to eat an egg mcmuffin and have a huge coffee. Then we continue shopping.

I Can't wait I actually will have more money than I did last year.

Sounds like all of our game plans are the same!! My mother and I pour over the ads on Thanksgiving. We rank the stores by what we want, what time they open, and what are the odds they will have what we are looking for left if we go to another store first. KB used to open at 5am so we were always up by 4, but last year they were closed and nothing opened until 6, we felt like we were missing something!! We have to bring the van of course or it won't all fit. Last year we used Gottadeal (and though I couldn't help looking and loved knowing ahead of time it kind of felt disappointing to open that Thanksgiving day paper and have no surprises), I had never done the price match at Walmart though so this year I can scout the ads, then I'll go see if Walmart has the same thing and mark those off my list as the last thing to do. (I just have to remember to get there before 11 or noon or whenever the ad I'm looking at ends). I remembered someone mentioning it last year and found a number of items I didn't get at other stores there and PM'd with no problem, I just didn't do it ahead of time, this year I will. We stop for a breakfast or lunch some where along the way depending on our momentum and finish up about 12pm. Then we go home and nap. While we're out, my husband cooks a turkey dinner (we always go out for Thanksgiving so we never have leftovers so we do our own the next day). My mom and cousins come over for dinner and we have the tree up already, so we all decorate it that night. We have even dubbed the day after
"Festivus" (yes after the Seinfield episode even though we have no pole of insults) The kids just think that's what the day after Thanksgiving is called!!!

We seem to get the newspaper here late, sometimes too late to create a gameplan. Last years paper for instance, had hardly any of the BF sale ads. :mad:

That's when I said to myself, "Myself, I am going to depend on the GOTTA DEAL, BF website for all my gameplanning". It worked out superdeedooper. I had a complete list (Thanks to Brad, Ross and everyone else that contributed). I got my hubby awake, he didn't seem too enthused (cold water did the trick) and rounded up a GF from work and off we went. Wrote a list of stores and also item #'s when I could.

I was also successful getting sale items online at a few places, so that saved me some driving and time. Once again, thanks to this website for the heads up.

Not sure what I want this year. I need to see what is out there before I commit to anything special. I am sure hubby will head for Ace Hardware and Radio Shack. I'll probably get more adventurous as it gets closer.

One cool thing we are going to have on the BF site this year is lists of the most popular items. Unlike last year, you can actually save your shopping list and add to it every time a new store's ad comes out (assuming you have an account on the forum), so we'll be able to use that info to show everyone which items are on the most shopping lists, and break it down by store / item category and overall.

Should be very interesting to see which are the most popular items as determined by you, the real BF shoppers.

One cool thing we are going to have on the BF site this year is lists of the most popular items. Unlike last year, you can actually save your shopping list and add to it every time a new store's ad comes out (assuming you have an account on the forum), so we'll be able to use that info to show everyone which items are on the most shopping lists, and break it down by store / item category and overall.

Should be very interesting to see which are the most popular items as determined by you, the real BF shoppers.

That will be pretty cool!!

I have no family here to form any kind of "plan" with and my friends and neighbors change each year, it seems (because people are always moving away in the army)...so I don't have any of those kind of traditions. My only real "tradition" if you can call it that is checking out all the ads/lists and deciding which things to get from which stores.

So this forum is the meeting place for those people who run over the little old ladies, and 5 year old kids, who got dragged along with their Mother trying to get good deals themselves?

I'm such a kidder!

unless there are some absolutely great deals on Black Friday, I'll probably just sleep in and then go to work.

So this forum is the meeting place for those people who run over the little old ladies, and 5 year old kids, who got dragged along with their Mother trying to get good deals themselves?

I'm such a kidder!

Absolutely!! (Little Old Ladies beware!!) :trampolin

I'm already in the shopping mood..... Each year it is "the season" to me starting on my birthday when my mom and I go down to an outlet mall in Sunrise and spend all day doing our first bout of actual Christmas shopping (I know seems early but how many other times does a mother of 3 kids under 5 get a whole day to herself to go shopping?). My birthday is on Oct 27th, but I was due to be induced on the 18th so we went earlier last year, on the 16th... so now since we have 2 birthday parties and Halloween to deal with we're going on the 8th, so that's my offical kickoff to the BF season!! I'll come back looking to see if the BF site is up yet!!

My black friday tradition so far has been to not go to sleep the night before, drive to Best Buy about 4:00 a.m., decide the line is too long, go home and go back to sleep.

On Thanksgiving day, My sister, mom , and I go through all the BF ads. We each take a store or two that we are going too and the others give them our list to get us. It helps to seperate as we always get what we want and no sell outs! Last year, my mom went to Target, I went to Toys R Us, and my sister went to Kay Bee Toy store. Then around noon or so, we meet up for lunch and seperate all the purchases for each family. It works great!

usually i just go through all the ads on thanksgiving day, and then decide if it's worth it for me, otherwise i just go later in the day to clothes shop.

Absolutely!! (Little Old Ladies beware!!) :trampolin

Yes of course. I have only seen one child and that was a three yr old but other than that, it is mostly women. (I am speaking from where I live). I know alot a men go but not really up here. Maybe if we had a best buy.

Hurry UP BRAD. Get it going. Come on. I am getting :grandpa: . While waiting.

Oh for anyone who does have a BB, if McDonald's does there Best Buy Dollars again this year. Send me a Private Message with your address and I will mail it to you. THIS IS A FIRST COME FIRST SERVE BASIS. IF I DON"T GET BACK TO YOU I DIDN'T MAIL ANY TO YOU.

I like the idea for cutting out the picture of the price comparison ad. We ususally get to Wal-mart early and grab the items that other places have on sale and then wait in line when 6:00 rolls around and check out. We could actually be done by 8:00!

Waiting in line for 4 hours freezing my ass off, half asleep probably playing our Nintendo GBA SP or using the laptop assuming it's not raining.

Now that I've got some serious dough, I may join the crowd of those who wait in line hours in advance to get in on the best deals (in years prior, I've never been able to eye any of the super deals like laptops, big TVs, etc; usually what I wanted did not fly off the shelves in the first 10 minutes).

-Mark-

On Thanksgiving, I go down to the corner store and buy the paper and go back home and go over our startegy. My sister, her roommate and I leave the house at 5AM after filling our coffee thermos, sales ads in hand and go stand in line at the hot spot. We travel from store to store gathering our picks, we go on to the next one. Once we reach Walmart, we always buy a new ornament or decoration for the house, then we go badck to my house, eat leftover turkey dinner and decorate the house as well as put the tree up. we alternate houses every year. Last year, digital cameras were the thing. She & her roommate fought for them. Roommate took a elbow to the nose and surprised me with the camera for Christmas! Lvoe that time of the year.

I don't really have a tradition. But last, I stuffed myself full of food on Thanksgiving, and I managed not to sleep. Then one of my friends came over at 4:30. The rest came at 5.

my mom,sils and my cousin,last yr....got to walmart and do most of ours and them to biglots and them to mcdonalds for breakfast then home..lol...my sil and I have been going for 7 yrs now..my mom started about 3 yrs ago with me...it is soooo stinking cold outthere...lol..

My mother and I always go now, but usually a whole crowd of us went when I was little. We begin by getting the paper super-early on Thanksgiving Day. Our local town doesn't have a mall, so I have to get the paper for the town about 35 minutes away. We then "map out" our route after Thanksgiving dinner, and clip any necessary coupons. We leave the house no later than 5am on BF, and get to the mall to get our Cracker Jacks at McRae's and free snowglobe at JcPenney. Usually by that point in the year, I have most of my shopping done, so I can get little things and stuf for myself! We also always try to go somewhere fabulous and decadent for lunch. The crowd is sometimes annoying, but I wouldn't miss the time Mom and I spend together on that day for anything.

My husband and I use the day as a "date day" :hearthrob

We LOVE bargains anytime of the year - but somehow it's a lot of fun on BF.

I make the "game plan" .. we get up EARLY - (I usually have to PRY him outta bed with reminders of specific deals) Coffee was set on the timer - grab our thermal mugs of coffee - stop at Krispy Kreme for a dozen... then hit the stores. Between stores I update the families Christmas lists... and SOMEWHERE along the way I always lose someones list.. :sidesplit

Lunch usually at Chili's or somewhere I have a gift card from... then a little more shopping and home to hid the gifts that are for our boys..

We usually don't wait in lines before hand - and don't sweat it if we don't get something from the BF list - it's not worth getting upset over - it's just fun to be together.. :tongue1:

My husband and I use the day as a "date day" :hearthrob

We LOVE bargains anytime of the year - but somehow it's a lot of fun on BF.

I make the "game plan" .. we get up EARLY - (I usually have to PRY him outta bed with reminders of specific deals) Coffee was set on the timer - grab our thermal mugs of coffee - stop at Krispy Kreme for a dozen... then hit the stores. Between stores I update the families Christmas lists... and SOMEWHERE along the way I always lose someones list.. :sidesplit

Lunch usually at Chili's or somewhere I have a gift card from... then a little more shopping and home to hid the gifts that are for our boys..

We usually don't wait in lines before hand - and don't sweat it if we don't get something from the BF list - it's not worth getting upset over - it's just fun to be together.. :tongue1:


That's cool, my mom and I go together and we wait in lines early... I could never get my husband to go though... He'd pay the extra 30 bucks I save rather than stand in line for 2 hours...... :eyepoppin

My mom and I have done BF together for a few years. This year, my Best Friend and I will be doing the BF sales together as mom has moved an hour away. Husband will keep the 3 younger kids - we'll take the 12yo with us if she wants to go.

She'll come over LATE Thanksgiving night, we'll slumber party with everyone asleep on the living room floor (fire in fireplace if cool enough to warrant). Chell, Meg and I will shop (my blazer not her bitty hatch back!) while DH cooks/plays with the other 3.

By the time we get home - hot turkey noodle soup and giftwrapping party. Then crafts & Decorating the tree.

We all go to my grandmas for thanksgiving dinner. The men watch the kids while the women make a game plan. We write down what we want at each store, and when they open. We all go home, and meet up around 3:30 for coffee the next morning.

My first year fro BF, had no idea that you needed to getin line so early...
had a new, (3 weeks) baby. So wasnt waiting around.

But the day before, we went to Kmart. And we went to Kmart on BF.

Second one,was in line at 2am. Lived with inlaws...so they babysat.
Went to Walmart then kmart.

Third, had Thanksgiving in our new home, then went to bed and went to walmart, hubby went to sears, and we met at mc donalds, hit the rest of the stores. and then home, cleaned the car while hubby slept, and went to get the baby.

THIS year...
We bought a a beautiful new table...I am ACHING to use it. But I think MIL wants to do thanksgiving at her ratshack..opps..mean home.
I might try to convince her to have it here. But if she wantsto cook...knock her socks off.

SO either way, we will be spending the night at her house. I refuse to go back to the walmart by me.

Hmm, traditions usually are...

We always go to Media Play and/or Circuit City. Me and my brother might go to Best Buy this BF.

Always wake up around 4:00 AM.

That's about it really.

Thanksgiving night--go over ads and finalize a mapped out route for the day. Also, we put up a christmas village, and we have our lighting ceremony that night.

Store order depends on what items are most important, etc. Stop at McD drive through (and complain about how slow the line is and how it's sucking up good shopping time--it has to be THE SLOWEST McD in the world). Then continue with shopping in the next town. Come home, nap, then start decorations.

My black friday tradition so far has been to not go to sleep the night before, drive to Best Buy about 4:00 a.m., decide the line is too long, go home and go back to sleep.


I usually don't sleep either. I try but I'm always too excited to sleep. We always have to drive to the next town to go to Target b/c there isn't one in our town. The first year I was so tired that I fell asleep on my cousins shoulder on the way there. Needless to say there is a picture of it in my aunt's house.

I never sleep. God knows I try but I keep thinking about the lines (will I be first etc), think about quantities the stores may or may not have. etc. My brain is usually too busy to go to sleep. Wake up, leave the house and be in line by 2am. My stores open at 5am mostly (KB Toys and Toys R Us does)

Late Thanksgiving when we can't possibly eat another bite, we all pour over the ads. My sister and I are usually the only ones insane enough to go out on BF so everone else sends their order & $ and we pick it all up.

Black Friday is one of my favorite days of the year! After Thanksgiving dinner, my mother takes the kids back to her house with her. That is usually the only day of the year my mother has the kids sleep over, and they love it because my mom sets up her Christmas tree and the kids decorate it with her. DH and I stay up late and usually the online Black Friday deals start in the wee hours, so we keep an eye out for them.
DH and I have our list of stores we want to go to, and we figure out which is the most "important" store to hit. We get there super early, and usually get there before anyone else. We sit in the van, so we stay warm, and we don't get out until we see the first person get in line at the store. So we are always second in line.
We have separate lists of what we want to get in that store. DH is a much faster runner than I am, so the best things go on his list. I love watching him run past the crowd to get to whatever widjit the kids want most each year!
After the first store, we take a more relaxed pace and hit the other stores on our list.
After we have visited every store we planned to, we go home and unload all the goodies, and go through them and make a list of what we bought before hiding the stuff in the attic so the kids won't see it.
And then we rest for a bit, before going out for lunch on the way to pick up the children from my mother.

My mom and I plan our strategy after Thanksgiving dinner. She hits Wal Mart and Kmart, I hit the mall. We have each others list of what to get. That way, we both get the deals! My sister in law meets me here around 5am, we hop in my truck and head to the mall. Usually hit WalMart around 10, shop, each lunch, then KMart and the little stores. We actually do pretty good at the little stores-4 movies for $28 last year!

DH spends the day decorating for me-only the outside. He gets all my wreaths and spot lights up so I am ready to light up that evening.

We get home around 4, put everything in the garage, and hop back in the truck to go to my mom's for Light Up Night. Mom, her boyfriend, her friend and daughter, my aunt, uncle and their grandaughter, DH & me watch the fire truck parade, then head to the fire department so the kids can see Santa.

After a rest from the big shopping day, sister in law and I plan our wrapping day. She comes over, DH lights a fire in the woodburner of the garage and we have a wrapping party. All the gifts are stacked up on the garage shelves for Santa to come and pick them up Christmas Eve.

(Santa was here already-he dropped off a scooter for SIL kids. We are the holding place so Santa dosen't have to carry everything!)

It's our yearly tradition!

Aww my whole family gets together after thanksgiving dinner and compares ad's, decides whose gonna grab what for who. We do it every year while the men watch football and laugh at us.

Funny they aren't laughing at us when we come home and they see how much money we have saved.LOL

Thanksgiving Day I go through all the ads while DH cooks! Then I'm up super early for the fun of BF shopping on my own. I bebop through the few stores I want to hit and am usually home no later than 9 or 10AM! Even if I don't see any "absolute must have" deals, I still go out because it's tradition!

A friend and I meet at the Waffle House across from the Mall & Circuit City at 4am to eat breakfast and go over our notes as to what we are going to buy. Last year I cut the pictures out of ads of everything that I wanted to look for. I pasted them to paper and took them with me. It really helped when we got to Sears for a TV and DVD player that was on sale. While all of the other shoppers were frantically trying to find those 2 items I was able to go straight to the register and show her my copy of the ad. Both items had the sku listed so she was able to ring it up. I was the first one in line because I ran straight to the register.

I plan on doing that again this year.

Amie


Hey...U wouldn't happen to live in Rome, GA would you? There is a Waffle House right across from our mall and Circuit City. I live in Calhoun but do my BF shopping in Rome.

On Thanksgiving look thru the ads & plan. Usually we go to Shopko & KMart on Thanksgiving. We no longer have Kmart so go to Shopko & Walmart. Most of the time I can never get to sleep the night before BF. I dont get much sleep, get ready & leave between 4 & 5am. Get all the shopping done & come home to wrap presents & put up the X-Mas tree if it's not already up. LOL Put a X-Mas movie in the DVD player & enjoy rest of the relaxing eating leftovers. LOL

I forgot to add that last year there was not many BF ads in our paper either. I thought that was very strange. I bought 2 papers & they had very little in them. Hopefully this year it will be better.