PentiumMMX

As always, setting aside money is a must, as well as making a list of what you want to get everyone. In fact, I've already started saving money for the big day, and have started planning what to get.

Seeing as I finally got myself a 360, I'm holding out to see if any games and accessories go on sale this year.

I enjoy the thrill of the chase along with the strategic elements of it the most, followed very closely with the deals I tend to go after

The only one I can think of would be the Symphonic VHS\DVD unit my mom bought at Wal-Mart back in 2003. The first one was dead out of the box, and the 2nd lasted a few months before finally giving out. The more expensive Emerson model we exchanged it for still works to this day.

No need to camp where I live, so all I bring is: - My green jacket (It's nice & warm, but also very easy to move in) - Cell phone (To keep track of the rest of my group)

I usually go with my mom, and on rare occasions, my sister tags along

It could be better, and it could just as easily be worse. I have no way of knowing if it'll be worth my time until the ads start flowing in in a few months, so we'll see when that time finally comes

My worst was from about 5 years ago. For Christmas, one of the aunts on my mom's side gave me some Hot Wheels. I wouldn't have minded had she given them to me 3 years prior, when I still played with toy cars, but at this point, I wasn't really interested in them anymore. To add insult to injury, my youngest cousin got the Lego set I wanted badly, along with a Gamecube. It's the though that counts, though, and I did get to experience the madness of Black Friday earlier that year, which did make up for the mostly forgettable gifts.

I've had a similar problem, but instead of assembling a toy, it's activating a phone. For Christmas this year, my Mom bought my Dad a new cell phone, and was going to have me activate it and transfer his old number. However, activating it was a hell in and of it's self; it didn't help that the website for the provider (Tracfone) went down while setting up the first time, and now that it's back up, it won't let me complete the transaction to have the phone number and minutes transferred from his old phone to his new one (I constantly get a "Please try again later or call Technical Support" message). It looks like I might just have to call their customer support to finally get this taken care of...

Here's how everything went down for me. Waking up at 4AM, I made some coffee and then woke up everyone who was coming along with me. We sat around, talking for a few minutes before we got in the car and went out to Wal-Mart. The parking lot was packed; my sister and I got out to find what we're looking for while Mom parked the car (In the far side of the lot, close to the garden). The place was packed; it was twice as bad as Black Friday 2003 was. Because employees where useless, the customers where helping each other out, finding what they are looking for. Anyway, the first thing I went after was the 4GB flash drives they had for $9. One lady asked what I was looking for, and when I told her, she handed me one of the many she had. That was one item down... The next item was Sonic Rush for the Nintendo DS. I had been waiting on the price to drop to a reasonable level since I bought my DS back in 2006, and seeing that it was on the same shelf with some of the DS games shown in the ad for $16, I figured it would be part of the sale. The copy I stashed over down the computer accessories aisle behind some speakers a week ago was missing, so I had to fight my way down the video game aisle, finding plenty of copies left. I actually managed to get what I wanted, though it just wouldn't be Black Friday without something going wrong. Because of how crowded it was, it took my group nearly an hour before we got to check out and leave. We then went to have breakfast at Whataburger, when it started raining outside as a cold front rolled through. It was pouring down, but thankfully, I didn't buy a Xbox 360, like I originally planned on (I feel sorry for the people who bought the TVs they had on sale if they got caught up in all that). We intended on looking at Goody's while out, but we decided to go home because of the rain. One of my complaints are the idiots who brought babies with them. They should leave the kid with the grandparents or spouse for a while instead of dragging it along; it's cruel to the kid. Also, I overheard people complaining about the crowd, saying "I'm just going to sleep in next year; I'll never do this again!" (I tend to ignore them, though, because no rotten apple is going to spoil my fun). Also, I wore my GD shirt to the sale. I did get a comment on it (A guy liked what it said on the back), and who knows; maybe someone saw the address and decided to start coming here. Other than that, it went smoothly compared to last year. Now I'm back home, enjoying my long weekend. I'm glad I didn't sleep in, like I originally planned.

I never saw any; they ran out before I left the house, from what I heard.

Even though I said earlier I wasn't going, I've changed my mind; I'm going now. Cheap 4GB flash drives, here I come!

I'm going to Wal-Mart at around 4AM, gather what I want that's already out, and then hold out for everything else I want to be brought out.

I agree. I've yet to see anything I have to get up early for, so I'm considering sleeping in on BF for the first time since 2002 (The last one I didn't go to). In terms of mediocrity, it's even with 2004 (I still don't remember why my Mom and I got out that year, except we didn't find what we where looking for because our Wal-Mart never carried that item)

This probably means my nearest Circuit City is going down. If so, I think I'll have to scoop up some DVDs before they go down.

We used to take my mom's Toyota, but seeing as she sold it, we'll probably take her new car

I usually wear pants, a random t-shirt, and a special jacket I always wear to Black Friday (It's not very warm, but it's easier to move my arms in than my other, warmer jacket)

The closest store to me that is doing this is too far out of range, so I can't do it. Besides, their limo would fall apart on the rough roads close to my house LOL

I've got a list of DVD box sets I want, but more than likely, I probably won't find them at my local Wal-Mart (Especially the Doctor Who box sets) (BTW, the closest Target I live to is about 2 cities over, so I'm stuck going to Wal-Mart)

The one closest to me is staying open, it seems.

I'd hate to be rude, but the PS2 is not a Nintendo product (It's from Sony)

We've never recorded Christmas. Instead, my mom took pictures she would put in a scrapbook.

Normally, it all starts after Thanksgiving dinner at my grandma's house (Which is always right at lunchtime). I get a chance to go over the ads again, and if there's anything we need or want, we begin to make a game plan. I then give my mom a "mission briefing" on what we'll do, where we'll meet up if we get separated, and other things. The next day, I normally get up early, make some coffee for myself, and wait for my mom to wake up (Though the past 2 years, she's been up before me), enjoying the calm before the storm. Once ready, we head out to wherever we're going for BF (Typically, we go to Wal-Mart). Once we're back, we get to wrapping any gifts we bought, and stash them away until I get the tree out.

I'm not sure if it's a regional thing, but the $5 DVD bin is available at my Wal-Mart all year round. However, their game clearance bin only comes around once or twice every year (Typically around early September to clear out stock of older games before the big titles start coming out. Sometimes it might pop up a second time in early December, though it's rare)

Hits: I can't remember (I've slept since then) Misses: Just about everything I received (I got a set of letter openers shaped like swords, which is cool, but I don't have much of a use for. I also got a set of knives, but I refuse to use it for the fact that the knives where that year's limited edition set)