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Every year I wait for the Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales for a specific few items from a specific few companies and I know ahead of time what I'm getting and that's what I get (if it's on sale). I did that already - got my Stacey Yacula wish list stamps and a couple of things from Unity. I was looking for a deal on Versafine Clair and found one on Blitsy, so I got a few of those.
This morning I clicked through to the Michael's sale and a couple of others and couldn't get past the first page. I can't make myself care enough to browse page after page, no matter how good the deals are! I suppose I should mention that I hate shopping in general, so no big surprise, right?
It just seems to me that this year the hype started earlier and is more "hyper" than last year - like it amps up every year to try to outdo the year prior or something. I hate how much a holiday that used to be all about gathering the family and enjoying - and being thankful for - all of the things we're blessed with has now become a prelude to a huge shopping spree. It makes me want to never turn on the television or go anywhere on the internet but here...
It's sad to think that there will be "Christmas burnout" weeks ahead of the actual holiday, but that's what it looks like is on the horizon for some, from where I'm sitting. I think I'll cocoon in my craft room with Christmas movies and music and make things and ignore the rest of the mad, mad world...
I agree with both of you. I don't do Black Friday. I did once years ago and decided very quickly that it wasn't worth it (time, money or otherwise) and I missed out on savoring Thanksgiving.
I don't like shopping either. I don't buy on impulse as I give a lot of time and thought to items I wish to purchase.
I am also very tired of the Black Friday hype. I try to tune it out and give each holiday it's own time.
I love listening to Christmas music, baking, and making crafts. This is usually when I get a lot of cards made for the new year - including Christmas cards for next year!
I'm right there with you, Sue! The "Black Friday deals" have been going on for weeks. So much pressure to buy things we don't need and spend money we don't have.
And, I apologize in advance for anyone I offend. I've been seeing Christmas lights and decorations in yards for weeks, aaaahhhhhggggggg! I'd like to enjoy the fall leaves and give Thanksgiving the attention it's due. So, I have!
Like you, I'm determined to ignore the hype and enjoy the parts that brings me joy. But that's generally how I feel about the stuff vs people part of all holidays.
I don't bake much any more, but took out my old recipes and made a batch of apple cinnamon muffins - my boys and dh really enjoyed waking up to those yesterday! I'm looking forward to surprising them with fresh cinnamon rolls next weekend.
Today, I need to clean the front room and move furniture over so we can put up the tree. Then I'm going to take a walk in the sunshine before the rain arrives and things cool off. Hoep you all enjoy today!
Stamps-wise I got what I wanted from Purple Onion and from Impression Obsession, and deleted every sales email that landed in my inbox without looking at it. It's only a good deal if it's something you need or really want, and in that case you already know and will be watching for a good price. Even over here, and it's only in the last three or four years that it started happening, I think, there have been sales all week coming up to Black Friday. I did get a badly-needed new tumble dryer rather than wait till the Christmas sales , and I ordered some seeds for the garden for next year and that was the sum total of my sale shopping, all done from the comfort of home.
I don't usually put my tree up till Christmas Eve, as we buy a real one and I like to have it up over the holidays. But I'll be changing out the panel in my seasonal sampler next week , and hanging up a Peanuts flag which Misti sent me. When DH worked in the toy industry, their build-up for Christmas started in February, which is probably what has contributed to his general Grinchiness. He always used to get to see Super Bowl when he was in London for a big trade show.
I totally agree! While I did purchase some things online at Kohls (on wednesday), they were all things I had planned ahead fo time. And I already had the things in my shopping cart waiting for their sale to start.
Been looking for a good deal of distress oxides but didn't find any better deals than I saw weeks ago, but today I found a Lavinia stamps seller on etsy with 25% off, and those have been on my wishlist forever, so I decided to get some of the stamps.
I find it sad that this season has come to be all about buying buying and more buying. So much waste!
My Black Friday shopping included going to local businesses and strolling through the Christkindlemart, which is an outdoor market based on ones that are in Germany. I did purchase a few items from Spellbinders for myself other than that I had no interest in Black Friday sales.
I don't do much shopping anyway, so I wasn't really tempted much! All I know is when they showed the people on the news coverage acting like a bunch of crazy savages grabbing stuff like their souls depended on it, I thought "How can they not feel ashamed and embarassed when people see them acting like that?" It was barbaric. I heard people here say that they witnessed people fighting and shouting in the stores. Can you imagine if there was a real "crisis" how these people would act?
I don't mind Black Friday at all, as long as that's exactly what it is: just one day of shopping bargains. When my kids were little, I'd be at our (small) local mall at 5am on BF waiting to score a huge deal on their toys. Once I was done with the toy store, I'd unload into my car and come back for a cinnamon roll and then check the department stores for cool gifts for the adults in my life. Really I kind of enjoyed it. I'd run into friends there and we'd catch up and talk about our thanksgivings and our families. Always home by 10am, ready for a relaxing rest of the day. And that was it! So my BF experience was nice, but no way would I want to do something like that now -- it's so frenetic and angry seeming when I see the news covering early morning at the malls. And don't even get me started about the people camping out in lines early!
I agree that this year it seems like all my emails start with "black Friday week" -- ugh! I admit I have made a couple of purchases, but wow... Like many other things nowadays, a special, limited time thing has grown into an extended craziness. A thing that is supposed to be unique and special is no longer fun if it lasts too long.
Sadly, UK retailers seem to have succeeded in making Black Friday a thing here. Until I guess about five years ago we’d never even heard of it. Now, every retailer is offering “deals” and we’ve seen some of the aggressive behaviour and camping out sort of queues. Ugh. We don’t have Thanksgiving (although some places here are trying to make that a thing too) so BF makes no sense to me in the UK context.
I got a few digi images from Power Poppy that had been on my wish list and that was as much BF shopping as I wanted to do. Mind you, I don’t even do grocery shopping in the store, I shop online and get it delivered, I really don’t like shops!
I am over the frenzy of shopping after just two stops on Black Friday. I haven't started my own decorating yet, it will wait until I get some more cards done. Many houses in my town are fully decked out because people were taking advantage of the relatively warm and clear weather in Northern Colorado. In a few weeks, who knows how cold it will be!
Mary Beth
I don't mind Black Friday at all, as long as that's exactly what it is: just one day of shopping bargains. When my kids were little, I'd be at our (small) local mall at 5am on BF waiting to score a huge deal on their toys. Once I was done with the toy store, I'd unload into my car and come back for a cinnamon roll and then check the department stores for cool gifts for the adults in my life. Really I kind of enjoyed it. I'd run into friends there and we'd catch up and talk about our thanksgivings and our families. Always home by 10am, ready for a relaxing rest of the day. And that was it! So my BF experience was nice, but no way would I want to do something like that now -- it's so frenetic and angry seeming when I see the news covering early morning at the malls. And don't even get me started about the people camping out in lines early!
I agree that this year it seems like all my emails start with "black Friday week" -- ugh! I admit I have made a couple of purchases, but wow... Like many other things nowadays, a special, limited time thing has grown into an extended craziness. A thing that is supposed to be unique and special is no longer fun if it lasts too long.
So yeah, I am over it already too!
I think that you've hit the nail on the head, Renee! Black Friday USED to be just as you described, but has morphed into something completely awful and unrecognizable from your earlier experience. One more indicator of how the all-powerful dollar has ruined "life as we know (knew) it"...
A combination of desperation to make a sale and over all greed have made this a ugly time of year instead of a joyous one. I just cannot get excited about looking for black friday crafty goodies. Like you I've pulled up sites, started to look and after only a few seconds I'm closing the browser and moving on. I just don't care.
Of course I'm in an overall "I want to downsize" phase of life too and suspect that is a part of it too.
I never shopped on Black Friday, as I don't like to shop and I don't like crowds. Two years ago, though, my teenage daughters wanted to go and they could not drive then, so I took a deep breath and went. It was great! People were friendly and patient and while lines were long at the registers, no one was rude or belligerent. We went again this past Friday night and had the same experience (minus the long lines, actually).
I still don't like to shop, though. I am too practical and not into owning stuff, so it makes it hard for me to buy gifts for others. I want to be generous but I find myself saying, "Do they really need this? Would they want it?". I have to realize that not everyone is as practical as me lol! And sometimes the point of a gift is to give someone something they would not splurge on for themselves.
So, with all that being said, it's time to put on my Christmas leggings and Christmas music, and do some Cyber Monday shopping. There isn't much to do, though, because my daughters and my parents have all requested much less/no gifts this year.
I never shopped on Black Friday, as I don't like to shop and I don't like crowds. Two years ago, though, my teenage daughters wanted to go and they could not drive then, so I took a deep breath and went. It was great! People were friendly and patient and while lines were long at the registers, no one was rude or belligerent. We went again this past Friday night and had the same experience (minus the long lines, actually).
I still don't like to shop, though. I am too practical and not into owning stuff, so it makes it hard for me to buy gifts for others. I want to be generous but I find myself saying, "Do they really need this? Would they want it?". I have to realize that not everyone is as practical as me lol! And sometimes the point of a gift is to give someone something they would not splurge on for themselves.
So, with all that being said, it's time to put on my Christmas leggings and Christmas music, and do some Cyber Monday shopping. There isn't much to do, though, because my daughters and my parents have all requested much less/no gifts this year.
Nicole, this is SO me! I have downsized and moved to "less is more" attitude about everything. Years ago I started giving my parents gift cards to restaurants because they needed nothing, but loved to eat out. My parents are now deceased, but I sometimes give food GCs to our grown kids because this is something that I would enjoy getting.
I never shopped on Black Friday, as I don't like to shop and I don't like crowds. Two years ago, though, my teenage daughters wanted to go and they could not drive then, so I took a deep breath and went. It was great! People were friendly and patient and while lines were long at the registers, no one was rude or belligerent. We went again this past Friday night and had the same experience (minus the long lines, actually).
I still don't like to shop, though. I am too practical and not into owning stuff, so it makes it hard for me to buy gifts for others. I want to be generous but I find myself saying, "Do they really need this? Would they want it?". I have to realize that not everyone is as practical as me lol! And sometimes the point of a gift is to give someone something they would not splurge on for themselves.
So, with all that being said, it's time to put on my Christmas leggings and Christmas music, and do some Cyber Monday shopping. There isn't much to do, though, because my daughters and my parents have all requested much less/no gifts this year.
Please come sit by me Despite it touching off a small war, we all went to "no gift" Christmases 8 or so years ago. It has actually allowed us to reclaim the holidays, which used to just be a shopping season filled with stress. I don't like STUFF either. Unless we're talking about art supplies.
And I'd like to beg on behalf of humanity that people stop gifting mugs. They multiply at an alarming rate. Faster than tupperware lids, I swear!
I think that you've hit the nail on the head, Renee! Black Friday USED to be just as you described, but has morphed into something completely awful and unrecognizable from your earlier experience. One more indicator of how the all-powerful dollar has ruined "life as we know (knew) it"...
Nicole, Lydia and Arlene: Right there with you! The grandkids will each get something from me and DH, but the kids and siblings will not. We all feel like time spent together is more valuable than "stuff" and we all have more than enough of the latter and not nearly enough of the former, so that's what we're shooting for!
Lydia: I had to laugh at the mug comment - how many mouths do we have, anyway? I use the same mug every day and so does DH. I have a cupboard with at least 18 mugs in it, but they could go away with no impact at all...
We stopped shopping for the adults years ago, and it has made things so much less stressful! It got to where we were just exchanging gift cards anyway! lol...
I shopped BF for a few years, when my kids were young. I went through the ads and figured out what I wanted, then went and hopefully got those things. I quit that years ago.
DH and I agreed that we don’t need anything, and when we do, we pretty much just buy it when the need arises....like when the coffee maker died a month ago.
The kids don’t want stuff in their homes, so they get gift cards for clothes and Uber.
However, I did just email them. Both have kitchen chairs that are not up to par. (At my son’s house, we were warned which chairs we shouldn’t sit in.). So, I’ve emailed them a link to overstock asking if they like any of the chairs. That would be a nice, practical gift. I won’t be able to take advantage of their BF deal, but they always have some sort of sale going on.
I also heard that “Black Friday Week” ad, and thought “ what the heck is that?
Something else I noticed is all of the commercials trying to convince us to give a car for Christmas. Really?
My DH and I have started going away for a long weekend on BF. We drive about 3 hours, get an oceanfront room that we couldn’t afford in the summer, go out to eat, and just chill for the weekend. It’s lovely, and no shopping!
I’m just happy I can do a bit of shopping - not much - at home. No store visits on Black Friday, that weekend or Cyber Monday. Autospell capitalized them as if they were a real holiday. Come to think of it, I rarely go to stores any time, other than my LSS, and I do have to break down and go somewhere to look at small freezers.
Not much Black Friday here. It was pretty much of a bust with thousands of people living in tents and shelters in our small town because of the fires. Very few people had the heart to shop for bargains and the stores understood that and didn’t push it with the big ads. They shipped a lot of their sale stuff to other cities in anticipation of a low turnout. I found Costco full of people buying clothing, bottled water, and blankets.
Not much Black Friday here. It was pretty much of a bust with thousands of people living in tents and shelters in our small town because of the fires. Very few people had the heart to shop for bargains and the stores understood that and didn’t push it with the big ads. They shipped a lot of their sale stuff to other cities in anticipation of a low turnout. I found Costco full of people buying clothing, bottled water, and blankets.
What town are you in, Maryalena?
On the news, we keep seeing the devastation in Paradise.
We are 15 minutes away in Chico. We evacuated but our house and our side of town were saved by the firebreaks. Paradise with few exceptions is gone. This was the view from our front yard the morning of the fire. Black Friday takes on new meaning but it will be a big one next year as people rebuild.
So glad you're safe, Mary! One of my daughters lives a few miles outside of Santa Rosa (Sebastopol) and we were monitoring those fires very closely earlier this year. She never had to evacuate, but one of her co-workers lost his house and everything in it, and her friends who own a winery lost two of their vineyards. Now I feel for all of those from Paradise and surrounding areas, and cannot even wrap my head around that much devastation and loss... Ditto on the fire farther south. My husband refers to California as "Nature's Amusement Park of Natural Disasters" because of the earthquakes, fires and mudslides, and doesn't understand why anyone would want to live there. I grew up there, though (Corona) and miss it...
I've been over Black Friday/Cyber Monday for years.
I'm off the age where there are quite a few things I want to have but nothing I need. We still buy for our "kids" but this year they are all getting practical items - a new mattress for my eldest daughter and her fiance. They live in a trailer in our driveway and the crappy mattress they currently have doesn't allow them to sleep well. Hopefully the inexpensive replacement will tide them over til they've saved enough money for a down payment on a house.
My sons are getting a car battery, and a mini fridge. All will be getting stocking stuffers.
We don't shop for anybody else. I do love shopping though so I think in the next year or so I'm going to talk to hubby about adopting a family or two for Christmas and focus on family togetherness for ourselves.
So glad you're safe, Mary! One of my daughters lives a few miles outside of Santa Rosa (Sebastopol) and we were monitoring those fires very closely earlier this year. She never had to evacuate, but one of her co-workers lost his house and everything in it, and her friends who own a winery lost two of their vineyards. Now I feel for all of those from Paradise and surrounding areas, and cannot even wrap my head around that much devastation and loss... Ditto on the fire farther south. My husband refers to California as "Nature's Amusement Park of Natural Disasters" because of the earthquakes, fires and mudslides, and doesn't understand why anyone would want to live there. I grew up there, though (Corona) and miss it...
Santa Rosa got hit very hard, then Redding last year. Many people I know will not rebuild because of the toxins in their lots and will be leaving the state. I used to grumble about Texas storms while I sat hunched down in my bathtub with pillows and a small infant waiting for the all clear. I think this is worse. Your husband has it right but I was born here so it's home to me too.
I agree with both of you. I don't do Black Friday. I did once years ago and decided very quickly that it wasn't worth it (time, money or otherwise) and I missed out on savoring Thanksgiving.
I don't like shopping either. I don't buy on impulse as I give a lot of time and thought to items I wish to purchase.
I am also very tired of the Black Friday hype. I try to tune it out and give each holiday it's own time.
I love listening to Christmas music, baking, and making crafts. This is usually when I get a lot of cards made for the new year - including Christmas cards for next year!
I agree with every word you said! I am not a shopper at the best of time, never ever cyber Monday or Black Friday. I don’t like crowds and I do shop online. So that eliminates a lot for me!
We are 15 minutes away in Chico. We evacuated but our house and our side of town were saved by the firebreaks. Paradise with few exceptions is gone. This was the view from our front yard the morning of the fire. Black Friday takes on new meaning but it will be a big one next year as people rebuild.
maryalena- My heart broke at your post. I am sorry. I am glad you are safe and your home is ok. I thought of California all Thanksgiving weekend. I can't convey in words how badly my heart breaks.
My DH made me get out of the house. I did go out "shopping" on Thanksgiving Thursday. I am surprised I got through the stores. I am having bad issues with anxiety now. Hey, coming over here I actually ate something. I haven't been able to eat for four days now. Yeah! You guys made me eat two apples and some pretzels. Seriously, thank you for being you and gossiping about stamping things.
I went to Michael's. Michael's is not close for me. When I walked in the store. There were only SIX people shopping! Can you believe that? SIX PEOPLE. I counted. It was a lady and her husband with a cart full of frames, Mother and her two daughters and a lady buying Christmas ribbon. Crazy! I had the aisles all to myself. I only bought a owl punch. That store is so expensive. Even coupons make everything retail price.
We went to our regular WalMart so I could get some medicine that made me sick and made my anxiety worse. Yeah, that was not fun. Guess what we had in the store? Aisles to ourselves again. Seriously, there were people just carrying things in their hand and didn't have shopping carts. That was the majority of the store. It was just a normal shopping day. They only had like seven lines open and only three people per line. I did hear a lot of people say things were too expensive. I bought my medicine and a pillow. Big spender.
I agree about Holidays. I miss the quiet. Least my stores were quiet, lol.
Anyone else over it already?
