Skipping Black Friday
It’s no secret that I love shopping, and I can fully appreciate a good sale; but I’m not a fan of Black Friday.
It’s not entirely because I used to work retail—though I could share some horror stories—but Black Friday feels like the opposite of what this season should be about. Rather than being grateful and thankful for our friends and family, relaxing and enjoying ourselves and each other’s company, Black Friday is a mad rush to the latest sale. It’s pushing, shoving, shouting, name-calling, and fighting over who got to the last item on the shelf first.
It’s ugly.
I assumed that because Thanksgiving isn’t celebrated here (Denmark), Black Friday wouldn’t be a big deal.
I was wrong.
Wednesday, I left my earbuds at my gym and, by the time I realized my mistake, they were long gone. Oh, well; these things happen. I decided to head down to the local shopping center to buy a replacement pair today before heading to my workout. Not expecting anything special at the shopping center, you can imagine my shock when I got there and the place was packed!
I feel quite stressed in large crowds of people—says the woman living in a big city—even so I’ve survived visiting Bangkok, but this was insane. I decided the earbuds could wait until Monday, but before I could retreat, a fresh hoard of people had surged behind me, pushing me into the already over-crowded shopping center.
The crowd that was coming in apparently also all had their hearts set on something from the electronics store I’d originally intended to shop in, so I moved along with them, un-successfully trying to avoid being stepped on and tripped over, until they started dispersing to various displays and I was able to make my escape.
Breathing freedom and thankful to still be in one piece, I returned home empty-handed. I decided to skip the gym and instead I took my little dog for a walk, making sure to take routes far away from undoubtedly busy shopping streets.
Sadly, it looks like I’ll need to re-adopt my “no stores on Black Friday” tradition. Living where I do, it’s quite challenging, but I’ll make it work. I’m glad it’s only once a year. One of my friends, upon reading this, told me that where she lives, they have extended Black Friday to a full weekend. Sounds like torture.
I’ll still be taking advantage of some of the Black Friday/Black Weekend sales, of course, but from the comfort of my couch, in my PJs, cuddling with my dog.
No pushing, no shoving, no shouting; just sales, snuggles, and a nice cup of tea.
Good luck to all those brave souls who venture forth next year. I hope you come back unscathed.
