Black Friday, black eyes.

Hey, welcome back! Hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful!

We went to see family members that I haven't seen in years - it was so good to see everyone, and especially so because I was worried that snow would prevent us from driving to my aunts house up a mountain in Virginia!

It's Black Friday. I'm not going out. Unless I do later....

For a penny pincher like me, Black Friday is a schizophrenic mess. There are some things that my family could actually use on sale today (underwear at Target), and there are some really neat luxuries that I'd like to give as gifts to different people (including my kids) that are really cheap. But I know that if I go out there, I'm going to be severely testing my resolve to only buy what I originally meant to buy. I might get into the "Oooh, that would be nice for Catie, my mom would like that, that's shiny...." and before I know it, my budget is blown for Christmas and I have 8 things my mom would like, but nothing for my dad.

As a former retail grunt, I have long believed that if the shoppers didn't show up, the workers could get more sleep. Yes, I know it doesn't work that way, but I can't decry the crass commercialism of the season, and then go participate in the annual punch-out for a cheap tablet. In other words, I'd be part of the problem.

But... it's a day with all my kids at home, and I was thinking about taking my daughter over to the uniform store to have her sized for another school skirt. The thing is the uniform store is very close to a huge mall, a Target, and a bunch of other high volume stores. The traffic is going to be UGLY.

I think I MAY go shopping today - by bike. The midtown center has some interesting shops, I can talk to a local bookstore about carrying my book, it'll get us some fresh air (we'll bundle up well), and we'd be supporting local business. I just wish the uniform store were a little closer!

OK, the next post will be about why I went with my trike instead of a longtail or 2 wheel bakfiets!

Stay safe!

Update - I caved. We went to size Catie for a skirt, but they were closed. Neither of my big kids had sneakers that both fit and were intact, and we were near Payless, so I took a deep breath and spent $40 for 2 pairs of sneakers. I probably could have gotten the same deal at most of their sales, and while we did walk through Target, I was not impressed. The deals were less than exciting. We didn't buy anything.

Thank goodness we went around lunchtime. The crowds had died down by then, so we didn't get trampled while we were disappointed.  :)

Update update - we did make good on the bike shopping idea on Sunday - we went to the Midtown Scholar bookstore to talk shop about the book, and the kids bought each other a gift. I have to go back for one that I wanted to get Catie, but couldn't because she was right there.