What are some of your Black Friday traditions (besides shopping)?

[Gporter34]

Thanksgiving dinner at our house with my parents. Then we go over the ads and make our final plans. We usually leave the house around 2 or 3am, but we have been known to stay out all night, lol. Then WalMart first, JCPenney(because I have to have a snowglobe, lol), Bath & Body, Radio Shack, Hasting's, and when it's all done, we go to Denny's for breakfast. After we eat, we go home and I wrap presents. Depending on the sales we may add or remove a store from our list, but we live in a small town without alot of choices.

[ogadoga]

After Thanksgiving dinner my sisters and I pull out the ads to look at them. Then I go get in line whenever I can get my husband out the door. After shopping we go back to my parents make Almond Roca and watch Christmas movies.

[dad2trips]

Plugging in and trying out all the new electronics I get from BB!

[dad2trips]

Plugging in and trying out all the new electronics I get from BB!

And then repacking them back up for Christmas

[Azzycat]

The last couple of years I've stopped at Chik Fil A and used a free breakfast coupon and bought a sweet tea to go with it. This is the only time of year I eat breakfast there and I deifnately need the caffeine by 8am since I wake up at 3:30 or so. (I know, I sleep in compared to most of you, but I still haul kids around with me to the stores...)

[AuntJamelle]

DH and I will plan out our "schedule" the night before - although we've been talking about it for weeks!

 

We try to get to bed at a decent hour, but that doesn't always happen, of course. In the morning, our first stop may be a store, may be Starbucks, depends on which is open first.

 

We usually shop pretty steadily, until about 11 AM - then we stop and go to Hacienda (local Mexican restaurant chain) for a huge lunch. Then we go home and sleep.

 

Then I wake up and start decorating the house for Christmas while DH continues to sleep.

[wx4svr]

I always end up being the "runner" for my friends and head to the Starbucks near BestBuy to pick up warm drinks. lol.

[lucyismycat]

We usually have the gameplan figured out a couple of weeks before BF, but we still pretend to "finetune" it on T-day. I usually go to Meijers on Thursday morning to pick up some deals and a bag of candy. When I leave the house Friday morning, the outside Christmas lights go on for the first time. I take the bag of candy with me and pass it out to checkout clerks and store managers.

 

This year we have a new little one in the house, but my plans probably won't change. DH isn't much of a BF shopper, although I have been known to call him in when the lines are way long and getting longer (usually at the cutting counter at Joann Fabrics). He'll come and stand in line for me while I keep shopping. I typically only hit 5 or 6 stores, then go home for a nap and then we head out for a late supper together.

[Princess7915]

After dinner on TG we always finalize our gameplan and let DH's look through the ad's and make their "wish lists". On BF we get up early and head out to our first store before opening usually Kohls. We shop til we drop!! We normally take left over turkey buscuits with us for breakfast and eat in the car between stores. We unload the car around lunchtime and decide where we want to eat. After lunch it's time for the second round of shopping!!

[mgmckny]

I always end up being the "runner" for my friends and head to the Starbucks near BestBuy to pick up warm drinks. lol.

Can you come be my friend?? Please.

[ajburlingame]

I go with my sisters and mom and we meet another family that we are extremally close friends with at The Olive Garden at around 3:00pm. We discuss the great buys we have bought so far and work on our lists of where we need to go yet. I love black friday for the deals but love the quality time with my family and friends. Black Friday is my vacation day from my husband and kids each year..........I LIVE FOR BLACK FRIDAY.

[harrispizza4]

The biggest tradition in our family is after everyone is done shopping we all meet at the mall around 11 for lunch and all the girls get a picture taken with santa. Santa loves having his pic taken with 10 grown women. LOL We have been doing this for like 7 years now and it's so much fun!

[suunflowrr]

lunch at Denny's with Mom and my sisters! :)

[katkat777]

Well I usually have a good idea for a game plan thanks to the Black Friday boards here. TG I fine tune my plan and on BF armed with my many ads I head out super early. I go alone because I dont want anyone to slow me down. Last year a friend asked to go..she is notortiously late for everything..I told her I was on a strict schedule and she could meet me at the store..of course she showed up late and I had moved on to the next store. Usually a stop at Krispy Kreme head to dads and we have some donuts and he checks out what I bought.

 

Edited to add:

Oh the binder thing is such a great idea!! Will have to do that this year!! I am getting tired of my car looking like I live out of it because of all of the scattered newspaper ads!!

Edited September 21, 2008 by katkat777

[MountainMommyO]

Thanks to finding this site a couple of years ago, I now have a much better game plan than before :) It all starts on TG by leaving the kids with my Mother to spend the night, bless her! my dh and I usually go home and spread out the ads get on this site and formulate the plan, hit bed early. We started packing some food and a cooler of pop for me and a thermos of coffee for him. We have to cover a lot of ground around here b/c there are 2 separate shopping areas about 30 miles apart, and we dont have time to stop and eat! Target and Walmart in one area, Toys R us and Sears in the other. Of course this year might be different, we finally got a BB that will be opening up in a few weeks!! I'm so excited!!

[Ladybing]

well being Canadian - some friends head down usually earlier on Thursday and pick up some flyers, and I usually head down later after work (although this year I am off on the Thursday so we'll be heading down together. We eat dinner at Denny's cause it is the only restaurant open for dinner. Then we plan, we peruse the ads in our hotel room (always the same hotel), and have a couple of different drinks - last year was a concoction with raspberry rum (you guys have soooo much selection down there). Then we watch some strange TV shows (like one year it was Drawn Together) and wake up a few hours later and head out. We keep in touch by cellphone to check out where we are all headed and meet for lunch. My last stop is usually JC Penney for some 'me' stuff. We always hit up Hobby Lobby after lunch and this year and then the outlet mall.

[leefamily23]

My sister and I always do the list and plan of attack on Thanksgiving evening. We also get together a list of items w/ the ad's we'll price match at Walmart since we always start off there. We also decide our plan of attack as well. We do the splitting off our lists based on department so we can cover more ground. It seems Walmart is always the first big store we get in line for. Usually she goes after the toy's we need and I go after the electronics. Then we pick out our meeting spots for stores the night before too.

 

We usually eat Arby's (at the mall) around 8-9am. It's got to be the only day of the year I have french fries and roast beef for breakfast. Though in reality--- we've already been up since 2-3am so it really seems like lunch.

 

My son has his own BF tradition and that is spending the day playing video games w/ my dad. They've been doing this for nearly 10 years.

[tbarry1974]

After cleaning up from the Thanksgiving Feast, and taking in some football we gather round the table.

 

I shop with my 3 sisters-in-law we sit and laugh and chit chat and strategize our plan of attack for the coming morning. Lists and flyers cover the table. We eat cracker pie and are usually so excited we can't get to bed at decent time.

 

Good times....Good times.

[ToastyOasty]

I love reading all of these. Makes me super excited!

 

I always plan out my route the night before and look at the ads 100 times to be sure. Usually make a list of where Im going and what Im getting from that store.

 

I was ecstatic when Target did the wake up calls by Kermit the frog haha. I wake up around 4 and throw on something warm and Im out!

 

I always stop by Starbucks on the way home (while blasting the Christmas songs on the radio) and go home to wrap! With the Christmas songs on of course.

 

I usually like going by myself but this year my girlfriend will be going with me. Just hope we can buy for eachother without peeking!

[Grants Dad]

Shop, regroup, get second wind, shop, go to my folks' or my in-laws house for leftovers and football watching. (and naps!)

[Disney8704]

Our (my husband and I) tradition is I would get the paper that has all the BF Ads and go through them and making up list of things Im gonna buy and things for my wish list. Then on Turkey Day, I spend all day long cooking and talking about BF to my whole family and then we eat. Then we put up the tree after eating and cleaning up the kitchen some. Then we hit the sack and then wake up early around 3am. But this year we wanna be in line at best buy by 1am, so we are just gonna take a nap after putting up the tree and then head on over to BB.

 

We always stop by Wawa 1st (for those who live on the east coast and have a wawa, you know what Im talking about - otherwise - its like a Royal Farms or another gas station with a mini mart) and DH get a cappacino and I get a hot chocolate for a pick-me-up and for something warm to drink. We then always hit BB first, then the mall and then maybe walmart if theres anything I wanna get. After shopping, we head over to IHop for breakfast, and then we head back to the mall and go to a movie. Usually a Christmas type movie if there is one that is playing. If not, something that had started that day or maybe the week prior. After the movie we head home and I hide all the presents. Then the next day (Sat), is when we will decorate the rest of the house and start wrapping the presents.

[Turtle Mommy]

On Thanksgiving after everyone leaves and the kitchen is clean dh and I head to our bedroom with the ads to get a game plan going. The last 2 years I went out alone and then dh went to a few of the home improvement stores to get the deals there. I usually run through dunkin donuts for a quick caramel swirl iced latte and bagel on the way down to the mall.

 

Our kids(well one is old enough to baby sit the other) are old enough to stay by themselves so this year I am going to try and talk dh spending the day with me...okay maybe after Walmart and Target!!

[nflores77]

We usually get all the ads together on TG and go through them. My mom, and I are the huge fans of BF. My sisters go sometimes but hate lines, hate shopping LOL So it's pretty much my mom and I. We go to starbucks first and depending on what the ADs have is what the gameplan will be for what stores we hit up first. I have a feeling I'll be hitting up BB first since I'm looking into finally getting a HD LCD/Plasma BIG SCREEN... well only if there is a deal LOL After we are done shopping we go out for breakfast, then we hide the stuff from the family. We usually do wrapping a week or two before xmas. My kids are getting older though so I may want to wrap presents the next day... just depends if my mom is into it. LOL

[angiebmac]

After we eat a very scrumptious Thanksgiving Meal, the women and teenage girls gather around the table with the GottaDeal ads and our lists. We plot the course for the morning. We start at Walmart. Since all of us aren't necessarily shopping for anything in Walmart, we all help get what we want. My Mom and my Aunt are the buggy keepers. They will stand near the checkout lines while one person head to Toys, one to Electronics, one to Housewares and the other to Jewelry. We 'runners' will have our lists of what we need to pick up and meet at the checkout lane to pay. We will then go to the next store and repeat the same process. After we've hit the Walmart, Kmart, Target, Radio Shack and other stores we will go to Shoney's for breakfast and then hit the mall since it usually opens later than the other stores. This is the highlight of our day and we are usually gone from 3am until around 6pm. There's usually 3 to 4 cars full of family members!

[sholleran]

Set the automatic coffee pot for 3 am, go to bed, get up, fill a Thermos & dress from the skin outwards like I'm going Moose hunting, grab my ads & drive to first target store... stand or sit & enjoy Chicago's late fall weather... or curse it, depending. Stay warm until store opens but need to shed many layers while shopping.

[cshelbythec]

Go over the ads after turkey dinner and finalize the plan! Get partially dressed before i go to bed, set the alarm for 230, hit the dunkin donuts at 3 am then Target or Walmart depending on who has the better deals. We have all the store within 5-7 miles so it's a nuthouse round here. But it's better to avoid Walmart most years because fights break out and the cops have to be there! Suburbia gone wild...lol!

[snomofinn]

Well, first of all I like to say, my tradition only involves ME. My husband and the rest of my family and friends all think I am out of my mind for doing this every year. After we get home from Thanksgiving dinner, I pull out all the sales ads, my cheesy christmas pen and my cheesy "Christmas" pad of scratch paper. I start my going through all the stores and making a list of each store I want to go to, and what I am going there for and then attach any coupons that might be associated with the ad. I take the sales paper, my list and coupons and fold them neatly by my purse. I sit down and pour myself a nice glass of wine and sit there and think what it's going to be like in the morning. I go to bed, and get up by 4 am and grab a venti coffee from starbucks and off I go. I am always home by noon with all my goodies. My husband just shakes his head when I walk in the door at noon. I just can't seem to get anyone to come with me. My girls are older now 22 and 15 and neither one are interested either, oh well, I will just keep it to myself. With all do respect... there are a few stores I do not go to and Walmart is one of them. I usually stick to Macys, Express (yes express opens at 5 am, with excellent deals and coupons), Best Buy, Target, and a few others. Can't wait till this year's BF!

[Joyagirl1013]

We both worked retail when we met and absolutely hated that day called Black Friday! For years we did not care, nothing could ever drag us out on THAT day! Then one year when our son was just 2 he wanted a furby. They were no where to be found. We had come 'back home' for the Thanksgiving holiday and were staying w/my parents. For the heck of it we asked my parents if they would mind if we left the house at five o'dark early to get this silly furby. We hit TRU, stood in the long endless line for an hour and alas when we made it into the store we were each handed a wrapped Kellog's Pop-tart. My husband and I shared one of those "you've got to be kidding me" looks, grabbed a cart each and flew through the store snapping up tons of glorious hard to find gifts for our toddler...and thus a tradition was born. We shopped every single BF after that, and mind you, we recall that smooshed poptart we were each handed, every single year.

Now we get up early, forget showering that morning, grab our computer lists, store flyers, highlighters and pen AND COFFEE MUGS and hit our destinations.

We're so bad we skipped a car trip w/other members of family (to a funeral) so we could do our BF shopping for our children (we left later that day) AND I recall the day my husband was in renal failure, near death, but we had to shop! I remember standing next to him thinking "wow, we really need to shower" not really knowing he was toxic and actually very sick and the odor was that of his shut down kidneys! Now...you know we are true blue do not miss a BF shoppers!!!! Every year we finish our day with breakfast out with our three kids (whom we pick up after shopping!)

[JazzMama]

Every year I make two loaves of Cranberry Nut Bread. We have one for dinner with everyone and then we take the other with us in the morning with our coffee! YUM!

I'd love to get this recipe!

 

Our traditions are:

The boys leave to go hunting around 4, then mom & I clean up, watch a classic Christmas movie and finalize plans on the ads. She usually falls asleep and I stay up all night. I can usually get a few things online before we leave at 4:30. First stop is almost always Walmart (mainly to pricematch), followed by whatever stores have the best deals. Breakfast is at Chickfila. Then, we hit Bath & Body Works. By that time, I'm usually worn out, so I head home and fall asleep for a few hours. After that, I get busy wrapping presents!

[superQ828]

My sister and our friends check the BF site multiple times a day starting at the beginning of November, making and remaking our shopping lists for BF. On Thanksgiving, we grab a copy of each of the local papers (some of the ads are only in one paper!) and remake our shopping list and our game plan for the next day. We set up our meeting point for our friends (who's going to be driving, who's picking who up, etc.) Sometimes we meet at the first store, and then carpool to the rest of the stores. We typically start at Kohl's then the 1st Walmart (they share a parking lot), then the 1st Target (down the street). We usually get a snack at Bruegger's Bagels or Caribou Coffee, then either head off to one of the local malls to hit Bath & Body Works, Lane Bryant, Sears, BB & Circuit City. We then usually go to the other Walmarts or Targets in the local area, and usually Big Lots and Kmart. We finish off with lunch and go home for a nap before putting up our Christmas decorations. I am usually designated to "shop" with my friend's daughter so her mom can get and disguise her gifts. This is getting harder every year since she is going to be 11 this year. Last year we invited one of her friends and her mother to add to the confusion about whose gifts were whose!