Black Friday - Saint Louis,MO

I would never, ever step out of my house on Black Friday, I value my life and sanity waaaay too much. In fact, this year, I'm doing 90% of my Christmas shopping ONLINE :)

I hope, for you Black Friday lovers, things get better again!! If not, come over to my house for coffee and donuts, I'm still staying inside, LOL!!

I've never ever once participated in Black Friday sales.

My husband did stand in line EARLY for a Wii once a few years back.

I refuse to be a retail puppet yanked around by marketing tactics.

I save more by doing research and buying accordingly. And I don't like dealing with crazy crowds who think they just might get something for (next to) nothing. Retailers are in business to make a profit.

I started going when my daughters were young and a few years back my oldest daughter started going with me. She's soon going to be 22 and still wants to go together. It is more about the time together and our special day vs if the sales are that great now. I let her take the lead and we hit the stores that have the cheapest and best movies. We are almost always home before the crowds come out. So to answer your question, no I am not sad about the great sales being gone because it is still a great time with my daughter.

I'd rather sleep than participate in Black Friday.

I was thinking the same thing the other day. It has always been a tradition with my mom and I that we get up at 3:00 am on Black Friday to be at the stores by 4:00. It was what kicked off the Christmas Season for us and we LOVED IT! Last year there were stores open on Thanksgiving Day (very sad) and, Walmart opened at midnight. Now I hear this year Target and Macy's are opening at midnight as well. It seems to me that Black Friday is a thing of the past. A family tradition over, very sad. I am not going to ditch celebrating Thanksgiving with my family just to get to the stores on that day.

Last year the sales at Toys R Us were insane. I didn't go, but I dug through the stuff my mil and sil bought and my jaw dropped. I was so mad at myself for not going.

J., I'm with you all the way in your SWH. That's what my mom, sister & I have always loved about it. We would get a huge chunk of our shopping out of the way while saving a heap of money & be finished in just a few hours then go for a giant breakfast. We always stopped at Starbucks first & it's an absolute blast. I've never once seen an actual fight. A lot of stores, like Old Navy for example, will even do fun games while you're standing in line. One year I got a coupon for an additional 50% off my entire order at Old Navy because I was the only person in line able to produce a 2 dollar bill!

We will still go this year & have fun even if we're not saving as much money as in years past. It's one of the only times during the entire year that the 3 of us grown women go anywhere all together without any men or children. (except in January we've got a grown-girls-only 3-day cruise planned & can't wait!)

My sisters do black Friday. The whole nine yards. There weren't any 'must haves' for us last year, but there were a few good deals, and hey, its tradition. You can't mess with tradition. So they finished early and got to IHOP early. That's another part of the tradition. Going to IHOP or Denny's when finished.

I know exactly what you mean. Two girlfriends and I have been shopping on Black Friday for the past 18 years or so. We usually come up with our game plan via conference call on Thanksgiving, but the past couple years everything started to change. Now if you want to get the best deals you need to start on Thanksgiving or heck you can just shop on line! Even so we plan to continue our tradition of starting out day in the weee hours of Friday morning because really we do it to just be together. It's the one thing that the three of us do together every year and sometimes we don't see eathother much inbetween.

As far as the crowds go...on a normal day they drive me CRAZY, but on Black Friday it's expected and I just program the mindset that it's going to be crazy and I'm totally fine with it. Long lines don't bother me on that one day. Heck that's part of the fun...trying to find the best line and see how quick you can get through. For the most part people are friendly and we have a good time talking and laughing with others about what we've already done on that day and it's only 5:00AM.

We're usually done by lunch time, but there have been times that we've been done by breakfast time. Either way we cap it off with a meal together and toast to another successful Black Friday. Then we start looking forward to next year!! Whatever you do keep up the tradition as best you can...it's worth it!!

There isn't a sale that is worth it to me to stay over night, fight crowds like that or get caught up in the chaos. Never, never, never!

I went last year with my sisters and I couldn't really buy anything because I was in Maryland with them and I live in Texas and couldn't get it back home. I love it and had a great time. My sisters go every year and I join them when I'm home for Thanksgiving. Usually we don't really go for the sales, but more for the fun of being together and we view it as a competition. We want to see if we can get the hot deals. We've never been stampeded or had any issues with lines. I'll check the ads the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and see if it's worth going out. I think you and your daughter should do it for the memories not the merchandise.

I did black Friday last year with my sister. It was the first time for both of us. We went out of curiosity more than anything...we wondered about all the hype and supposed fun. I know many people that feel like you do about the event. It sounded like a kooky way to save some money and have some fun. We will NEVER do that again. The deals weren't that fantastic (or the fantastic deals had such limited quantities it was ridiculous). It was cold. We were exhausted. We didn't have any communal feeling...people were pretty rude for the most part. I felt like a pinball being bounced around the machine as I attempted to get through the crowds. Going into Target when they opened was actually a little scary. People attempted to cut the line and some of the people who had waited in line with us, got upset and a little violent over the idea. It's not worth it to me. My sister and I will find another way to get a little quality time. And I'll shop at home on Amazon in my pjs, where it's warm and everyone loves me. :)

My mom and I still do it for fun. I just love hooking up early with no kids and hangin' with my mom. I usually do not find good deals.

I have gone for over 10 years now with my mom. I love the crowds and the deals. But this year I am hearing lots of buzz about stores opening up at midnight and the sales starting then. It is not worth that to me. I have no problems being there at 5 or 6 in the morning. But I won't waste my Thanksgiving night shopping. I am waiting to see what actually comes out in the ad. In the meantime if I see something I need on sale early, I'm getting it !

I went out at MIdnight lasy year to grab a 50% off gift cerificate that was well worth it. And since I was out and alone, I decided to check out Walmart. It was a zoo of angry people and the deals kind of sucked.

I find it best to hang around at home on Friday and maybe go shopping later on in the day if I feel like it. BUt I never go for the blow out pricing that reqires you to be there on line.

I do enjoy Christmas shopping - but I hope to do it pretty early this year!

I've never been a Black Friday or day after Christmas shopper.

Fighting the crowds is not worth it to me.

I do a lot of shopping online since most of my gifts are sent out of state.

Dana brought up a good point: on any other day, those crowds would bite! But on this one day, it's part of the fun. I've done them a few times and really had a lot of fun with them. Yeah, there are some deals and yeah, you could be all technical and do the math to figure out if the amount of money you save is worth the time you spend (dollar per hour figures) like I did before I ever did a Black Friday sale......but then I tried it and just had a lot of fun with it. The girl version of "the thrill of the hunt". And it was nice to get up early and get a cup of hot chocolate for the road, meet up with my friend, and sit down and chat TOTALLY UNINTERRUPTED BY CHILDREN. We love kids. They are the light of our lives. But, sometimes girls just wanna talk. And it was fun to chat about stuff. To lay out "the battle plan" (I go left and pick up this and this, you go right and pick up that and that----get 2 of those). Meet up at a specific spot in the middle, trade things, check off our loved ones lists, and go to ihop afterwards. Good fun! When I got married and moved away, I only did one of them in TX because my husband had to work the day after Thanksgiving and who would watch the boys? (Didn't want to bring children through the crowds, that would be NO FUN and way too early for them). That one time though was great! I talked on the phone with my bff and we waited part of the time together.....but on the phone. And then phoned when one of us finished to compare the spoils of war. I also always found the crowd to be a lot of fun and engaging. To me, it was part of the holiday spirit----people dressed a little festive, with their cocoa and a snack or treat leftover from Thanksgiving, talking about anything but especially the holidays and our plans, comparing sales and notes on the best recipe, music, or upcoming event! Last year, I did Black Friday shopping but it was a little bit sad. I had only been living in this state for 3 weeks so I missed my friends and family, knew noone, and the people in line were mostly texting. The texting thing was sad because instead of being engaged and lively with the people around them, everyone was just sitting down looking at their iphones. My bff that I always spent Black Friday with (either in person or by phone---TALKING, not texting) got a new job and was working that morning. But, about 45 minutes before the store opened, people got more excited and we did have some nice talks then. And yeah, the deal was still good: $100 off the xbox, a great deal on the xbox game of the minute, 40% off the portable dvd player, 75% off the family board games for a short period of time, etc. I was pleased with what I scored, and was home in time for breakfast with the family. But I missed my mom and bff, for sure. I haven't heard that merchants were going to open early, but no....Thanksgiving is a whole holiday. I would not leave my house before 3am because my time with the family and "winding down" afterwards is all part of that holiday. Not gonna end it prematurely. Incidentally, I have never seen a "bad" Black Friday crowd, but then I was always smart enough to steer clear Best Buy and Walmart. I shopped the mall or last year, Target. The crowd was nice. And once standing in line for a register, we all just talked to pass the time. It is a nice little kick off to the Christmas season. I hope it doesn't end. A new (local) friend started talking about us going to Black Friday this year, and leaving our children with the men, warm in their beds, while we go have "mommy time". Looking forward to it!

WE are PROTESTING Black Friday. As an Occupy movement. So black Friday this year may become a tad bit annoying for everyone involved.

Have I participated in black Friday, yes.

I can remember four different years spread out over the nine years my husband and I have been together.

the first year was for an Ipod.

The second one a cheap DVD player for my little sister.

Target for an ihome one year.

And last but not least my mother in Law and I went and did a Walmart BF.
Suicide was more like it. We stood in line to pay for well well well over an hour.

I feel so free knowing that they do not control the happiness we will still have as a family unit. I like knowing christmas is not going to be about the amount under our tree, but rather just being happy with the fact everyone is here. Able to celebrate.

I makes me sad that Christmas starts the day after Halloween. And Halloween starts the day after school starts.

These mass crowds sound similar to some other mass crowds that are being called other things. Not all are violent..some have their moments...and they all are after one thing....That prize at the end.

not sad at all Black Friday has lost its luster! It is about darn time!

I've never shopped on black Friday. My husband and I hunker down like there is a zombie invasion. My mom just complained about this the other day, though. She is going out this weekend and buying gifts, because there are some great sales. I guess black Friday was very nostalgic for her. Kind of like kicking of the Christmas season.

Wow, I totally read this post wrong at first. I was thinking, Oh my, who killed the merchants? Wait they killed Black Friday, they weren't killed ON black Friday.

Never been a black Friday shopper. I like people in general, but I don't like general people. Does that make sense? In other words I hate crowds.