Thanksgiving: A holiday dedicated to giving thanks for all we have and all we hope to have in the future. We’re thankful for friends and family, we’re thankful for good health and opportunities. We have so much to be thankful for, so it seems fitting to have a special day to reflect on our fortunate lives. But, Thanksgiving is slowly becoming less special.
Black Friday is something we’re all familiar with. It’s the crazy shopping day dedicated to door busting sales and deals of the century. For as long as I’ve been around, this Friday follows Thanksgiving Thursday, hence “Black Friday.” Stores have always opened at crazy hours in order to host the mob of shoppers craving a bargain.
This past Black Friday stores opened at crazy hours, as usual, except these hours stretched forward into the hours of Thanksgiving day. Some stores opened at four pm Thursday night, which is earlier than most families would meet for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. There is no reason that shopping should come before a holiday because that is just simply not what the holidays are about.
What’s the most upsetting is that people choose to shop rather than spend time with their families on Thanksgiving, when they don’t know the whole truth about Black Friday…from the inside perspective. I totally understand going shopping on Black Friday…”Friday” being the key word. You can wait a few hours. Truth be told, Black Friday sales are a scam. It is just a promotional weekend for retailers to make more money. The entire hype about Black Friday is that it’s one day of “amazing deals.” So, everyone floods into stores and not even Thanksgiving dinner holds these shoppers back. Reality check: retail stores keep their sales going all weekend. Friday. Saturday. Sunday. These stores also have holiday hours, so they open earlier and close later. You have plenty of time to shop.
Working at Tommy Hilfiger has enlightened me about the truths of working in retail. Tommy Hilfiger’s Black Friday sales started a week before actual Black Friday. Therefore, there was ample time to go shopping and to get the same deals, instead of opting out of Thanksgiving festivities. I guess it isn’t the public’s fault. Companies don’t advertise their sales for Black Friday more than two days prior, so you wouldn’t know the sales had begun unless you actually asked.
In all, it comes down to the importance of family, friends, and quality time together. If you choose to shop on Thanksgiving, make sure you are doing it for all the right reasons and knowing all the faults. Make Thanksgiving a special day every year, if you can. After all, it’s only one day.
Happy Holidays!
xThe Kingx