A Month Away

So, today is Black Friday. I have no idea where the name came from or when it all started. Probably the name indicates that retailers who participate will be in the black after today and everything from now until Christmas is just gravy.

 

When I was a kid the big shopping day was Boxing Day which was the day after Christmas. Being a kid, I was more interested in the toys, cookies and candy that I was busy scarfing down the day after Christmas. The day after Christmas meant that I could go out and show my friends the toboggan, hockey stick, gun and holster or any one of the other things I got the day before. Christmas day was about family and eating too much. Boxing Day was the day that the moms (for the most part) would return the shirts, sweaters, or socks that were given that just didn’t fit. I suppose that the retailers figured that if people were going to be in the stores anyways, they would give them a reason to spend more money. Smart businessmen.

There was a time when real deals could be had, but that was also the time when all items had phenomenal price mark-ups, so they could afford to slash the price one day a year. Sometimes people would get TV’s for half price; clothing for at least that and everything else would be a deal as well. People would go out early in the morning and return exhausted but happy at the end of the shopping day with their arms loaded and their wallets empty.

 

I never took advantage of these sales, or at least I don’t remember ever going out on Boxing Day. Part of the reason was that I had spent what little money I had on gifts for Christmas. Family and girlfriends expect a gift wrapped and under a tree on the 25^th, not a promise to get something “real” nice for them on Boxing Day. Also, I really don’t like crowds any time and I certainly don’t like being around pushy, crazed, shopping addicts. Yes, I could get a TV for $200 on Boxing Day but it was worth my paying an extra $300 in the New Year just to avoid the crowds.

I am not now and have never been a shopper, but to me the deals on Black Friday don’t seem that spectacular. I guess some are, but now those sales last for a week or more and instead of elbowing my way through the stores on Black Friday, I can saunter into nearly empty stores on Sunday. There is a little less of a selection, but that is a small price to pay for my sanity.

Besides, Boxing Day is just a month away.