Aurion07

Ditto. I don't take my son anymore now that he's four, but only because he'd be bored and he's old enough to know if I'm shopping for him. BUT I took him when he was 5 months old (well bundled and slept through the whole thing!) and 1 and 2. If it wasn't for these forums, I'd have no idea how dangerous Black Friday was in other areas. And, that is saying A LOT since I live in Miami. People here are known for being rude and road-raged. But in 6 years of Black Friday shopping, I've not once run into a violent person. YEs, some people are frustrated, but slamming someone's head into a paller???? That doesn't happen here (knocking on wood!). In fact, I like Black Friday shopping because...wait for it...people here are NICER at 5am than they are during a regular mall day. I don't credit the people, it might just be that there are so many Walmarts, Targets, and whatever else you want in a short driving distance. The only thing I advise is to know your child. My son no longer has the patience for Black Friday. And also, if you do bring a small child, PLEASE dress them appropriately. If I see one more baby with only a onesie on while his mom is wearing 5 layers, I'm gonna end up in jail.

I agree with the above. Its the same as alcohol or chips, some people can have just one of something, and others can't control themselves, for whatever reason. (I can stop at one drink, but you'll have to tear the bag of chips from my cold dead hand ;-) ) Credit cards are a tool, if you can't use them wisely, you'll hurt yourself. Its not the card that hurts you. I have 5 and no running balance. 3 are for discounts (Kohls, the Limited and Macy's). I have the Target Debit redcard so I can get the 5% without charging to credit (since I can never just stick to my list at Target) and I have two emergency credit cards, one that I use A LOT and pay off every month to rack up rewards for travel. The other I almost never use, but the terms are no fee and super low rate so I keep it just in case of emergency. They like to send me 0% offers which I use and pay off before I rack up any interest (he'll, even at 1% savings I make more than I would paying cash). But these tricks only work if you have a very stable financial situtation, backup SAVINGS, a steady income stream AND most important, self control when it comes to spending. I don't think 80% of people can pull it off, and it helps if you know yourself well enough to know your own limits (don't get me within a mile of doritos ;-) ) For BF, I always take only my discount credit cards and the one I use to pay everything with...I pay it off online within a week (gotta wait for all the charges to go through)...I never take cash, but I don't carry cash with me normally. For me, I am less accountable with cash. I hate to see the list in front of me of all my charges totalled, so it keeps me more accountable to use my card. The opposite is true for many people. Good Luck.

LOL...I feel like I post this same response every year. To the OP, where do you live? If you've been BF shopping before, was it insane? See, I live in Miami...I hear all these horror stories online, but I've been BF shopping 4 years in a row and have never seen or experienced anything like some of the posters above are describing. I attribute it to suburban sprawl. I have two walmarts within 2 miles of my house, four targets that I could get to within a 10 min drive and the same goes for Best buys, sears, jcpenny, toysrus etc. I took my son when he was 5 months old and again when he was 1 and a half. It was me and my husband and the baby in his stroller. Yes there were lines, yes a number of people would rush in the store, NO, I've never seen anyone nearly crushed or the stores get very packed. I've never even had any trouble navigating with a stroller and a cart (pushed by my hubby). I am always on the hunt by 3 am... (5am the year my baby was only 5 months). My child has never been in any danger and slept through most of the hunting when he was a baby. I understand this is not the situation in some other places, so I guess you will have to go with your experience to decide if you live in an area that is somehow dangerous to your children on BF. I do think that, personally speaking, you couldn't pay me to go out on any shopping spree, on any day, with 5 kids. Especially not by myself. Truth be told, I wouldn't take out my one kid by myself on BF. Just not convenient. But I wanted to put in my vote for those who read this and have one or two young kids, that its not the greatest sin in the world (depending on where you live, I guess) to take out your warmly clothed child on BF. Heck, we consider it a fun family adventure now. (I suppose this also depends on how commando the parent is...I can imagine this trip isn't fun for some people) Also, to the suggestion that your 8 year old can help watch the kids...I don't know your child and I am sure he/she is great, but taking care of two 5 year olds is a task that many adults cannot handle. Best of luck.

Thanks. I picked up two. I signed up for the Amazon Mom and it comes with free Prime which includes toys (I'm not sure what else the Mom Prime applies to, but its a great deal for FREE).

I do it for the fun and tradition, the deals are a sidenote for me. My kid is only 2 and he came with us the first year (slept all warm and snug in his buggy while dh and I had fun together) but came with us later in the day the second year (great grandma volunteered to watch him since our washer-dryer had to be purchased at 4am). I don't know what we will do this year. His safety has never been in question (I live in Miami and have never seen any situation on BF where anyone's safety is an issue. Weather is definately not a problem either.) But for convenience we may make other arrangements this year. I love going with DH so I hope he won't prefer to stay home with the little man. What I love most is the adventure with my husband. My second fav thing is that people are nice, fun, and in a holiday mood (mostly ;-) ). And, finally, by Sunday I have 99% of chirstmas presents wrapped an under the tree, which makes for a stress free holiday season.

Hi all, wondering if anybody's noticed that the 32" TV Target has on the add is not a product on their website? Most sites link the add to a West... 32" 1080p that is on the website, but the add says its a 720. I can't make out the model number so I'm wondering how we find out specs on it? I want to compare it to the 32" on sale at Walmart. Anyone have any ideas?

Oh, but I forgot, yes, Brandsmart is a NIGHTMARE! I can't stand that place, and try to avoid it at all costs. There is never a good time to go there.

Illinoismom, We are in Miami Lakes, but I went to stores in Hialeah and Pemborke Pines. Didn't come across any rude people actually (with the exception of parking!), and we were shopping from 5:30 am to 2pm, by which time you expect people to be a bit testy. Miami gets a bad rap, IMHO. Most people here don't go out of their way to be nice, but they also don't try to be rude. They just mind their own business. There are rude people everywhere, unfortunately, but I usually find people are nice to me (prob because I'm nice to them). I read stories on here about people taking from other people's carts and shoving and trampling, and I could never imagine that here. Maybe I'm being naive, but in 29 years of life and pretty extensive travels, I don't find Miami to be any better or worse than anywhere else with respect to rudeness (but who knows, I also found people in France to be very nice and accomodating!)

I think the OP is being a bit judgmental or naive about people's circumstances. I live in Miami, cold isn't a problem. Also, we don't get the crazy crowds that I see people talk about on these sites (one advantage of suburban sprawl). Last year my husband and I went shopping with our 5 month old baby at 5:30am (baby's normal wake time, ugh). It was fun. My baby was well bundled up from head to toe and very comfortable in his cushy stroller. We had no one to leave him with, even though we have an extensive family network. Everyone was shopping. Paid babysitters are not really acceptable in my culture/family. So I can't even begin to imagine the hardship of parents without our network of free babysitters. Going by myself wasn't an option as I was making big purchases, literally, and needed strong arms to carry them (getting store assistance on BF isn't easy). And of course, sending my husband alone shopping is a recipe for disaster. Between me and my husband we navigated friendly orderly crowds very well. My baby was entertained by several other children at the stores, who also were never in any danger and caused no problems. Our child was at our hands the entire time and never unsupervised. I finished all my christmas shopping by 2pm BF, which for a new mom (read "sleep deprived") working full-time, was an absolute life saver. Also, the savings was essential considering the RIDICULOUS price of baby formula! I agree that some people don't cover up their kids enough, and my baby never left the house his first 6 weeks of life. But I've seen infants at Cubs games in Chicago in 25 degree weather, so its not a BF phenomenon. You just really have to leave room for varying opinions when it comes to parenting. Whats a mortal sin to you, might be perfectly acceptable, even expected to someone else.