budgetsRsexy

I love this idea as it means more people might hang around and add to the different threads. I’m also excited about the possibility of the slogan on the back of the shirt making a comeback Sent from my iPhone using GottaDEAL

I’m really looking forward to it and hope this will become a long term tradition for the adults. I suspect the only major difference would be that the kids would get gifts as well as their stocking. I sure can’t imagine my mom being ok with not buying gifts for grandkids considering she buys something for my dog every year [emoji6]

I went to Target when they reopened at 6am. There were about 50 people in line but most showed but just minutes after we did and we got there at 5:45 (traffic was better than I had anticipated so I made good time). My dad got the one door buster he was after and I picked up a few things but none were sale items. Everything was well organized. You could tell the workers had been there a long time cleaning before the doors opened or that they had worked the night before as many looked exhausted [emoji42] Sent from my iPhone using GottaDEAL

I never managed to place an order online on Thursday (long story) but I was still able to get everything when I went in store today around 7am. Their employees were the best I dealt with all day and I was very pleased with the quantity of door busters that they stock. Fabulous experience there. Sent from my iPhone using GottaDEAL

I also wonder how concerned I should be that an order that I made at 9:30 this morning is still processing (my husband, the cook in our household, decided to tell me this morning that we wants the instant pot ugh) Sent from my iPhone using GottaDEAL

I plan to go out Friday and honestly a high of 48 degrees and no rain (or snow when it’s colder during the early morning hours) is pretty darn decent weather for upstate NY this time of year. I might not even wear a coat (I’ll have it in the trunk just in case though) [emoji3] Sent from my iPhone using GottaDEAL

Just found out my husband made an arrangement with my dad (who is my BF shopping partner) last year. Apparently my husband was stumped on gift ideas last year so he had my dad take notes of what I seriously considered purchasing while out BF shopping but inevitably put back because I would feel guilty about buying something for myself when I should be shopping for others. Then later in the day on Friday my dad emailed the list and my husband popped out to the store to buy it (while I was napping apparently). They did a good job because I never caught on and liked all my presents. Very sneaky, I’m impressed [emoji846] Nothing big that I want for Christmas this year but at least now I know how to get a hint to my husband. Sent from my iPhone using GottaDEAL

An extra advantage of the gift card is no one can complain when you spend it and bring home more craft supplies. Not spending it would be wasteful [emoji6] Sent from my iPhone using GottaDEAL

Not going to lie, I’m surprised that NY is considered so safe accorded to the color coded map. Sent from my iPhone using GottaDEAL

We are starting a couple of new traditions this year. Each couple picks and pays for an activity for the family to do together. My parents are taking everyone to see a stage production of A Christmas Carol, my sister is taking us all to see the new Star Wars movie and (funnily enough) we are treating everyone to an escape room. I like the idea of making memories instead of getting clutter. That being said my mom can’t forgo gift giving completely so we are going to stuff each other’s stockings by getting one gift under $5 for everyone and then sneak it into their stocking sometime on Christmas Eve. Honestly, I’m betting we will have a lot of fun with this. (PS there are no kids yet so this could change in time)

It’s funny, in the 6 years I have lived with my husband I have never come across where he stashed his gifts for me. I don’t intentionally go looking but since I do most of the cleaning (he does the cooking and dishes and some laundry so I can’t complain) I would have thought I would have stumbled across his hiding spot at some point. I keep gifts tucked away in the guest room closet and he knows it but he likes surprises so he won’t ever peek. My mom used to use the neighbors garage to hide our stuff. I love the idea of using the empty Christmas tree box. Sent from my iPhone using GottaDEAL

I regift but you have to be careful about it. If I don’t feel like I can regift something then I donate it to a thrift store so that someone else can get use out of it (and so it doesn’t clutter up my home). Sent from my iPhone using GottaDEAL

My husband was going to pick me up a paper at the store tomorrow around 4:30am but now I’m worried they might sell out. I didn’t realize they released them the night before. Sent from my iPhone using GottaDEAL

So does anybody plan on doing store recon tonight? Which stores do you plan on hitting and when? Do you feel that it really gives you a leg up on the other shoppers? I’d love for people to weigh in on this [emoji3] I only really go to kohls on Sunday anymore before their online BF sale starts to see things in person before I order so I can order with confidence. I’m not going after big ticket items so recon on Wednesday nights don’t seem to give me much of an advantage but I know I’m probably not the norm.

I meet up with my dad in the parking lot at our first store around 5am. He brings hot tea and I bring our Black Friday bingo sheets. As we shop we mark up our bingo sheets (squares are filled with thing we might see out like: empty checkout line, someone wearing a Santa hat, a police officer sighting etc.). Whoever gets bingo first gets their breakfast paid for when we go out to eat after finishing our shopping (usually around 10am). Sent from my iPad using GottaDEAL

Because we only shop in store on Friday and the new store hours it’s definitely going to be Kohl’s at 5am for our first stop. Then JCPenney and then Target for their 6am opening. I’m so excited to finally have a game plan in place! Sent from my iPad using GottaDEAL

I enjoy talking with the people around me and my dad (my BF shopping buddy) and I have met some fascinating people over the years. If people aren’t particularly chatty them my dad and I will just talk and work out our plan of attack for the next store. Sent from my iPad using GottaDEAL

I really dislike the Thursday start times but honestly my 2 biggest pet peeves are rude people and parents who don’t pay any attention to their kids and let them be horrible. I’m not talking about whining or yelling or kids running in the store or even kids who are having a tantrum because they are clearly tired (kids are kids, it happens and it’s no big deal to me). It’s the kids that are ripping up displays or taking items out of packaging or who purposely throw products in the aisle or who try to trip other customers that bother me. It’s when they do something bad or malicious intentionally that really gets under my skin, and then when their parent sees it and does nothing about that just makes me sooooo angry inside. Phew, that was a lot more than I expected when I started this post. Thanks for the space to vent in! Sent from my iPad using GottaDEAL

As many others have said, it depends on the kid and a good parent generally has an idea if their kid can handle it or not. Having a plan in place for busy stores and for if a kid ends up getting overwhelmed are important. I honestly have a much bigger problem when I see bad parenting. It upsets me when kids are not dressed appropriately for the weather. I also find it extremely annoying if kids are misbehaving (or worse, doing something dangerous) and the parents are too busy on their phone or fighting over a sale to do their job and be a darn parent. Best of luck Sent from my iPad using GottaDEAL

Always check your credit card pending purchases/statements to make sure that there are not any suspicious transactions. Someone else on one of the Kohl’s threads mentioned this and pointed out you should always be vigilant. It was a very helpful reminder: Sent from my iPad using GottaDEAL

I have my credit card and plan to use the rewards points I’ve already earned to pay off any purchases I make. I will also stop at the atm tomorrow to have some cash on hand as a back up plan. Sent from my iPad using GottaDEAL

I do a combination of wrapping and gift bags for those really oddly shaped gifts. I find it hard to get motivated to wrap until the tree goes up but once it’s up I pick a couple of weeknights and wrap on a card table while watching TV (usually a Christmas special). I do store bought bows and my wrapping is nice but not perfect. My husband’s is perfect but he is sooooooo slow. If it’s just going to get ripped off anyway I don’t really care about perfection. I just want it to look good for a few pictures [emoji12] Sent from my iPhone using GottaDEAL

I got my shipping confirmation and my order from 6am Monday morning is expected to be delivered Friday. Really happy that nothing got cancelled. Best of luck to everyone on your orders! Sent from my iPhone using GottaDEAL

20% off site wide through 11/27 (keepsake and other exclusions apply) https://www.hallmark.com I plan on grabbing some coworker gifts here

Do things switch over to the BF prices pretty quickly? I’m not sure if I can make it much past 1pm, if I can even last that long. I’m debating the risks of just going to bed now and getting up a hour earlier than normal. Sent from my iPhone using GottaDEAL