Black Friday Approaches!

Since I homeschool my sons, I am limited to working from home. I write Woman in the Man Cave as a column for a few local newspapers, but I'm not making nearly as much as I did when I was a District Sales Manager at the newspaper last year. Thanks to my husband, I am able to run an Ebay store selling vintage treasures I find at auctions and thrift shops. Other than that, our family's income is solely provided by my hard-working husband. Gotta love him!

I don't know about you, but I love a good deal. Especially when it comes to holiday shopping. I have two sons. One who is ten and the other is twelve. My oldest son has finally hit that point when his gifts have gotten smaller in size, but much more expensive. He runs an up-and-coming YouTube channel and makes his own money doing so. His wish list this year involves things I have never heard of. He wants something called a Blue Microphones Snowball, which is apparently a microphone that is ideal for recording videos. Okay. Why didn't he just say microphone for pete's sake!? My youngest son is much simpler and easier to please. He is a creative little monster and he wants good old LEGO's and also more bands for his bracelet making hobby. Much more affordable on a budget! I can handle that.

Since gift giving is a part of the season I've started watching the sales online and in the ads. I have come across some great deals fairly early this year on Groupon, but I am nowhere near putting a dent in my gift list. That's what Black Friday shopping is for. Deals and lots of them. 

I've heard so many people trying to convince others to boycott Black Friday, because it pulls people away from their families during a holiday. Funny, nobody says boycott stores on Christmas Eve or any other holiday for that matter. How about criminals boycott crime so our police officers can have a break too? Yeah, not going to happen. I have worked in retail and I've done my Black Friday time. It's no fun, but it's not like they're working for free. In an ideal world, nobody would have to work holidays. However, we live in modern day society which is driven by consumers and sometimes what we want isn't always important. That's why I take advantage of the shopping frenzy. 

There are people who ruin the shopping madness by their greed and anger. Those people need to stop and realize what they are doing. They won't, but they should. I can't stand seeing the primal nature of people grabbing and pushing for a $5 movie. It's dumb and completely unneccesary. Those are the individuals who make the holiday shopping so unenjoyable. They're like real life Grinches. Bah Humbug, I say to them. 

I don't do all of my shopping in the big box stores. I just go for the big deals which I know I won't find anywhere else. I love to find unique gifts and that is when I turn to the local shops. Those are the treasure chests of holiday finds!

I think what people should put more focus on during the holiday season, is doing more local shopping. There are some wonderful little shops in Miami County, OH area where I live, run by families who are dependent upon our business. Shops like The Three Weird Sisters Studio in Troy and Cairns Toys in Tipp City. Those are the kinds of shops we should be putting our focus on. Wouldn't it be wonderful to drop by the Troy Bulk Barn and Deli to pick up some holiday ingredients and treats on a whim instead of relying solely on the big box stores who won't remember your face? That is holiday spirit. Encouraging local families to keep their dreams alive by supporting them with our business. 

I encourage people to think about their shopping habits and evaluate how they can balance their shopping out to include more of the local economy in their holiday gift hunt and planning. Stop relying solely on the big stores for your daily needs and remember the people right here in our community who would benefit. Those local stores may not have Black Friday sales, but unlike mass merchandisers they will bring the human experience back to the holiday shopping season by truly appreciating your business. 

Oh, and remember to be nice to those individuals who are working on Black Friday. Don't flip an attitude because you couldn't find that $1.88 movie you wanted. Be kind to each other and treat people like they matter. 

Thanks for reading. 

Take care!

NB