Thanksgiving is the day when families gather together “to give thanks in grateful acknowledgement of benefits or favors, especially to God,” according to dictionary.com. After the joys of spending time with your family and eating delicious food, the fun continues with Black Friday.
Black Friday has long been regarded as the first day of the traditional Christmas shopping season and is special because retailers offer generously reduced prices on their items. Shoppers take to the streets, even on Thursday evening, and shop until they drop, sometimes literally. Some shoppers spend all night Thursday and all day Friday filling carts, swiping their credit cards, and buying goods for their loved ones and sometimes themselves.
I love Black Friday. Every year I save money specifically for Black Friday. Once the day comes, I’m ready. I’m not going to break the bank or overspend. And I’m super excited to go shopping. It is the perfect chance to score the best deals on all the gifts you want to give your loved ones.
Let’s face it, you can’t afford that super cool watch you wanted to get your dad that was originally $550, but you can score it for $300 on Black Friday. It doesn’t get any better than that. Black Friday is almost like a holiday made for shopping. All the stores build the enthusiasm by releasing their Black Friday ads days or even weeks in advance. They also host preview sales so shoppers know what to expect. There are deals on small gifts like home decor or video games, but there are major deals on big ticket items, too.
I did a quick google search on “Black Friday” and immediately found some of the most popular deals. Target is offering a $250 Target gift card when you upgrade to and activate an iPhone 8 or iPhone 8 plus. While this isn’t necessarily a discount, you can use the gift card to save money on future purchases.
Black Friday is not only a chance to score gifts for Christmas, but also for some people to take advantage of it to buy things they need or want for their homes and themselves.
If you take a look at the Best Buy Black Friday ad, you can get a Sharp 50-inch LED 2160p Smart 4K Ultra HD Roku TV for $179.99, saving you more than $300 according to forbes.com. The perfect purchase if you’re hosting a Super Bowl party next year. Walmart will also be selling select movies for just $5.
Black Friday shopping also can be an opportunity to have fun and bond with family and friends. That’s how I’ve done it every year. My sophomore year, I went with my grandma, and we spent all night and all day browsing stores for things that we liked; we also kept each other company while standing in line.
Last year, I went with my dad. He enjoyed an opportunity to go out with me and shop for my mom and sister. Seeing him so proud of himself for picking out the perfect purse for my mom was awesome. So for those of you who think that Black Friday takes away time with your family, well, you’re doing it wrong.
Some people think that Black Friday is overrated, and it’s just an excuse for American greed to take over, and for people to spend thousands of dollars in things for themselves that they don’t need, but in my opinion, it is not. While I can’t speak for everyone who shops on Black Friday, I can say for myself that that’s not the case.
Black Friday is not an excuse for me to be greedy and buy things I don’t need. Black Friday is a day where I can go find things for people I love; and without the deals, I would not be able to buy for them. But sure, I might find a really cute sweater for myself while I’m at it.
