40 replies to this topic

[fluffkin79]

Routine? That suggests some sort of plan. I don't even know what city we will be in this year! For the most part it kinds goes like this: Check, then recheck ads. Then get the paper copies and check them again. Make T-Day dinner, sneak out to Kmart, hang out with family, watch football. Finalize plan. Snooze, order online, doze, order online, take a quick nap, then head out the door too early. Shop, shop, shop. Drop - at least for an hour or so. Put up the tree, let the kids decorate. Gather up the kiddos and DH and head out to a holiday parade or tree lighting ceremony. Sleep. Sat or Sun: unload trunk and begin wrapping If we go out of town this year we will probably head out to the apple orchard gift shop instead of putting up the tree. Otherwise same thing, different place.

[imginah]

I take the Wednesday before Turkey Day off and do all my baking and prep work. I get all my cleaning and decorating done, and the table set. On Thanksgiving I get up early, get the bird in and the potatoes boiling. I go to morning mass and have the family (all 18 of them) over for a noonish meal. Then we quickly clean up and head to the Kmart about an hour away. The whole day the radio is on because this is the kick off day for the Christmas Carol stations across the area! YaY! That evening I stay home and lay out my battle plan. By then I know if I'm staying in town or driving to the mall or the AAFES an hour away. I usually leave around 2 if I'm going to the mall or AAFES and I go to Walmart at 12 since they implemented the whole line up thing. Since my son has grown up I don't find that I have to shop so much on BF. I don't think high end electronics really say I love you at Christmas, but that just my opinion, and lately that's the trend of BF sales. I do still go with family and friends and help them get what they need. Christmas is really about the kids for my family, so I like to make sure they get what they want. Whether I'm helping my sisters get it for my nieces and nephews or just getting out there with some friends while they grab a few things for their kids. BF warms the cockles of my heart and really is the start of the season for me.

[mcwalker]

My schedule has varied somewhat as I was traveling when I did two of my four BFs to date, but the general timing is about the same: Prepare shopping list in advance on Gottadeal, but recheck and revise up to Thanksgiving afternoon. Buy the paper Thanksgiving morning. Depart home or hotel around 3:00 AM BF and in line within 15 to 30 minutes. Continue to visit multiple stores until late morning, then pick up wife and return to some stores (usually Kohls) for her to make some purchases, before doorbuster prices expire if possible. Wife might go out for early line this year for the first time.

[jessicarenfro]

Anyone have any specific rituals or survival tips to get you through the day? My sister and I go every year. We always pack a small cooler with drinks, snack foods, energy bars etc. - cause lets face it, you true BF shoppers know that there is no time to stop for food! Lol!!! We also have T-Shirts made every year. They are black T-Shirts and the front always says "Black Friday 20_ _" (what ever the year is) and the back says "Annual Therapy Day" Cause lets face it, it is some what of a therapy session that day hahaha!! So what do you guys do to survive that day and do you have any silly traditions?

[zoemariesmamma]

#1 my mother and I bring NO ONE..we have made the mistake of taking other people before and it is terrible #2 we always eat at olive garden...at around 11..which seems like a reasonable time..but we are always starving by then! oh yea..and I always stay the night at my mamma's that day. my husband and kiddo go home after dinner and I stay so we do not waste time in the morning

[bigjimslade]

My best survival tip is to plan, plan, plan and plan. The planning starts here at Gottadeal.com!

[starbeck96]

My best survival tip is to plan, plan, plan and plan. The planning starts here at Gottadeal.com!

That's my main survival tip also..lol. I have went 10 years now nearly all of them with my bff. There has been only one that she didn't go and that was bc her kids were sick w/the flu.

We always plan together so that if one of us can go on one end of the store and get everything we both need and the other one of us gets stuff from the other side. Since Walmart opened early though we both went together and got all of the items that we could around midnight and then one of us went on one side of the toy section and the other one on the other side and grabbed things that were on both lists.

[Yakyma]

Use to go to K-Mart on Thursday morning about 2:00 a.m., but since it has closed...I just get up early work on Thanksgiving meal, check the computer off and on all day...the paper is delivered so grab it early and start pouring thru the ads, there is something about having the actual ad in hand...lol. My daughters usually have Turkey dinner with other relatives, so it is just Significate Other and friends for dinner. My Daughters and any other friends that are brave enough to go with us come over to the house about 7 p.m. This is when it gets serious...everyone has a notebook, pen and ads in hand, pies are sliced and drinks are make and we start on who is looking for what and who is going to what stores and list are made. We divide up and pick up for each other...I never go to bed...too excited. I usually head to Wal-Mart about 11:00 pm...pick up sale items that go on at midnight check out load it in the car and head off to the store that I will standing in line at...usually Target. It is an annual event at my house!!!

[blankita719]

Use to go to K-Mart on Thursday morning about 2:00 a.m., but since it has closed...I just get up early work on Thanksgiving meal, check the computer off and on all day...the paper is delivered so grab it early and start pouring thru the ads, there is something about having the actual ad in hand...lol. My daughters usually have Turkey dinner with other relatives, so it is just Significate Other and friends for dinner. My Daughters and any other friends that are brave enough to go with us come over to the house about 7 p.m. This is when it gets serious...everyone has a notebook, pen and ads in hand, pies are sliced and drinks are make and we start on who is looking for what and who is going to what stores and list are made. We divide up and pick up for each other...I never go to bed...too excited. I usually head to Wal-Mart about 11:00 pm...pick up sale items that go on at midnight check out load it in the car and head off to the store that I will standing in line at...usually Target. It is an annual event at my house!!!

And as one of said daughters - it never fails that our significant others think they are going to try & get out of it every year - Bwahahahahaha

[Kme1958]

I always BF shop not in my current town, I go where my family and DH's family is from and shop with my cousin...we have gone together for 7 years now. On Thanksgiving we eat until we can't breathe of course! DH and I since we are out of towner's we get to bring the pop, rolls, something easy. My cousin and I meet up around 8pm to get our ads together, gear, fully charged phones, snacks, and get the kids to sleep. Then we head out about 10pm to the mall for the Disney store since they open at midnight. After the Disney store we get some 2am food at Waffle House, (last year we hit up a gambling spot LOL but not this year), head to Walmart to get in line for whatever items, after Walmart we go back to the mall for Penney's, Kohl's and random stores in there. We are usually home by 9am asleep by 9:05 (since we pull an all nighter which gets harder as I get older and I'm still in my 20's LOL) Once I get up DH and I pack our bags and drive the 3hrs home!

[honey_bee_1979]

Well we have been doing this for some number of years and it really changes a little every year. We just find ways to improve from our previous year however we don't usually deviate from our favorite stores. I hate Walmart. As far as I'm concerned our local walmart has never played fair when it comes to BF That is one change we made... Anyway I'm rambling... Most every year we prepair lots of things for Thanksgiving dinner so there is not alot of work for me to do come Thanksgiving day. We get up early, hubby runs down to the store to get all the papers, usually one of his friends puts them behing the counter for him so they aren't all sold out when he gets there... he gets there about 6am. He buys the papers & coffee & comes home. We sit down before any of the kids get up and look through all the papers. I circle the item I want to get. If we have doubles when the kids get up we give them those papers so they can write out wish lists. We put the papers up & continue through our day. We have homemade cinnimon rolls for breakfast, watch the parade on TV, have fun playing or whatever needs to be done. The kids pack there overnight bags. My family comes over for dinner around 3-4pm, we eat dinner/dessert, then its time for me to clean, put away all leftovers. Usually we are done around 7-8. Then we pack up our kiddos and bring them over to a friends house. We have coffee & talk and leave there around 10. Well we have time alone when we get home and go to bed usually by midnight. We get up about 3:30 on BF, go to Dunkin Donuts for coffee & food, then off to the city, to the mall. We usually wait in line for an hour or so, then its off to the races Once we finish our shopping (usually 2 malls & some stores like Walmart/target (after the rush) we cover all the gifts in the back of our Excursion and go pick up the kids. Then we go to the tree farm and walk through the fields to pickout and cut our Christmas tree. We come home hid all the Christmas gifts and put up our tree. Then we decorate it. Then its time to relax. Ah! We wrap the gifts within the next few days so as to not have any peekers