# How do you prepare for shopping on Black Friday? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 23, 2010, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prepare-for-shopping-on-black-friday/561662 "2010-11-23T15:46:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2010, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prepare-for-shopping-on-black-friday/561662/1 "2010-11-23T15:46:05Z")
A good night’s sleep? High-carb, low-fat breakfast? Money belt? Back-up money belt? Comfortable clothing (a sweatshirt that says EXCUSE ME)? Running shoes? Do you have backup in the form of friends or family members or do you shop alone? Do you stick together or fan out? “All right people, I see electronics, I see clothing, I see soft toys! Remember your training – this is NOT a drill! Let’s MOVE, people, let’s MOVE!” If it’s really crazy, does that mean the economy is getting better? Me? Pffft. I’m gonna sleep in, eat something, do some laundry, play Fishdom 2, maybe watch a movie. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2010, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prepare-for-shopping-on-black-friday/561662/2 "2010-11-23T15:49:53Z")
I’m with you. The only place I’ll drive to on Black Friday is the emergency room. Anything else can wait. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2010, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prepare-for-shopping-on-black-friday/561662/3 "2010-11-23T15:54:22Z")
Simple. I wake up, have a long, relaxing hot shower, then get dressed, fix lunch, plunk down in front of the TV and watch the news reports of people making asses of themselves in the malls. ---
**Author:** ![Alpha\_Twit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpha_twit/32/265_2.png) [@Alpha\_Twit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpha_Twit)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2010, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prepare-for-shopping-on-black-friday/561662/4 "2010-11-23T16:11:13Z")
I stay home. No chance of getting me out anywhere more demanding that the nearest convenience store. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2010, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prepare-for-shopping-on-black-friday/561662/5 "2010-11-23T16:14:58Z")
I’m planning to stay home and have sex. There’s no way in hell I’m going out in that! Mr. Horseshoe does have extended family who do this sort of thing. They get up at 3 a.m. on Friday, having plotted out their entire battle plan the day before. Apparently, on Thursday after everyone’s done eating, the men sit around arguing about football while the women sit around arguing about which sale to hit first, over slices of pie. (No, thank you.) ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2010, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prepare-for-shopping-on-black-friday/561662/6 "2010-11-23T16:16:41Z")
> [@Alpha\_Twit](#): > > I stay home. No chance of getting me out anywhere more demanding that the nearest convenience store. Great. I planned on getting everyone Slurpees this year. Now I’m going to have to wait in line behind you. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2010, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prepare-for-shopping-on-black-friday/561662/7 "2010-11-23T16:17:41Z")
I’ll be up at 3 am get dressed in warm clothing and make sure my ipod has a full charge. ON thanksgiving I’ll have perused the sales sheets and picked which one or two stores I’m going to, which one I’m going to first and exactly what I’m going to buy. More then likely I’ll then drive an hour down the the town that has more shopping then the only I live in and hopefully get to the store by 4 am. I’ll hang out, listen to Christmas music, sip hot chocolate and chat with the other early birds (last year home Depot supplies coffee and doughnuts for the crowd). Once the store opens (5 am or so) I’ll head over to my items in the order that I want them and then possibly swap stores if there is something I really want. Worst case scenario I’ll be headed home by 7 am to have a nice breakfast and to start cooking my Thanksgiving meal. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2010, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prepare-for-shopping-on-black-friday/561662/8 "2010-11-23T16:22:52Z")
As a general rule I do my best to avoid a.) crowds and traffic, and b.) mass hysteria. No way in hell I’ll be out in the clusterfuck known as Black Friday. Ain’t gonna happen. ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2010, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prepare-for-shopping-on-black-friday/561662/9 "2010-11-23T16:44:27Z")
Although our Black Friday doesn’t come until after Christmas (Go Boxing Day), I’m one of the stay home and away from the crazy crowds people. I have always thought it would be amusing to go shopping dressed in a spiked leather jacket however. Just TRY and shove me out of the way! ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2010, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prepare-for-shopping-on-black-friday/561662/10 "2010-11-23T17:17:49Z")
> [@](#): > > Simple. I wake up, have a long, relaxing hot shower, then get dressed, fix lunch, plunk down in front of the TV and watch the news reports of people making asses of themselves in the malls. Dear Og, I completely and wholeheartedly agree with **Clothahump**. It must be a sign of the Apocalypse. ---
**Author:** ![Alpha\_Twit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpha_twit/32/265_2.png) [@Alpha\_Twit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpha_Twit)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2010, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prepare-for-shopping-on-black-friday/561662/11 "2010-11-23T17:54:36Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Great. I planned on getting everyone Slurpees this year. Now I’m going to have to wait in line behind you. :rolleyes: Don’t worry, I won’t be long. I’m already well stocked on [Paydays](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PayDay_%28confection%29) and porn so I shouldn’t need much. ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2010, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prepare-for-shopping-on-black-friday/561662/12 "2010-11-23T17:59:33Z")
I sit on my ass on my computer and get all the online deals. ---
**Author:** ![lindsaybluth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90db22/32.png) [@lindsaybluth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsaybluth)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2010, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prepare-for-shopping-on-black-friday/561662/13 "2010-11-23T18:13:19Z")
Isn’t Black Friday kinda dead this year, what with lots of sales going on all this week? I cajoled my mom into going out on Black Friday two years ago to get an LCD tv. In our podunk hometown, Boscov’s of all places had one left. It was great; I got their old Sony Trinitron and they got a tv a few hundred bucks off. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Onimous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ea5d25/32.png) [@Ann\_Onimous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Onimous)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2010, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prepare-for-shopping-on-black-friday/561662/14 "2010-11-23T20:00:42Z")
I go to work. I work in a call center, and we have a skeleton crew working that day: all volunteer. We get paid holiday pay plus whatever we work. I’d rather be at work dealing with teh crazy on the other end of the phone than in the malls dealing with teh crazy face-to-face. ---
**Author:** ![Velma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/85e7bf/32.png) [@Velma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velma)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2010, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prepare-for-shopping-on-black-friday/561662/15 "2010-11-23T20:16:50Z")
I do check the ads, if there are good deals I want I try to get them online. The only way I am going to a store is if there is a deal of a lifetime on a huge purchase I was going to make anyway. I am not fighting crowds to save $10 on a kid’s toy, especially since most of the prices are good until Christmas anyway. I told my husband one year I would have to be saving hundreds to make it worthwhile. I don’t understand the hysteria over most of the deals, especially now that sites like Amazon are really good at price matching. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2010, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prepare-for-shopping-on-black-friday/561662/16 "2010-11-23T21:23:18Z")
If I do go, I go early, I eat breakfast beforehand (though I have found at times that low blood sugar can actually make the shopping experience less painful due to a feeling of detachment), and the iPod is fully charged and ready to go. It’s amazing how much better shopping is when you’re a rude jerk who isn’t paying attention to anything besides what’s playing in his ears. Hey, the way I see it is, just as much–if not more–situational awareness than someone on a cell phone, without all the annoying yelling and overheard inappropriate conversation. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2010, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prepare-for-shopping-on-black-friday/561662/17 "2010-11-23T21:28:42Z")
> [@Oredigger77](#): > > I’ll be up at 3 am get dressed in warm clothing and make sure my ipod has a full charge. ON thanksgiving I’ll have perused the sales sheets and picked which one or two stores I’m going to, which one I’m going to first and exactly what I’m going to buy. More then likely I’ll then drive an hour down the the town that has more shopping then the only I live in and hopefully get to the store by 4 am. > > I’ll hang out, listen to Christmas music, sip hot chocolate and chat with the other early birds (last year home Depot supplies coffee and doughnuts for the crowd). Once the store opens (5 am or so) I’ll head over to my items in the order that I want them and then possibly swap stores if there is something I really want. > > Worst case scenario I’ll be headed home by 7 am to have a nice breakfast **and to start cooking my Thanksgiving meal**. 😕 … the day AFTER Thanksgiving? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2010, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prepare-for-shopping-on-black-friday/561662/18 "2010-11-23T21:44:35Z")
I work. Public servant; we get Columbus Day off instead. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2010, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prepare-for-shopping-on-black-friday/561662/19 "2010-11-23T22:54:57Z")
On a normal day I’d rather do anything but shop. I was thinking about picking up a new computer chair because I needed one anyway. However, I’ve made alternative arrangements so I can avoid going out. If I were to ever go out on black friday it would be with one-two specific purchases in mind. Not just general shopping. ---
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2010, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prepare-for-shopping-on-black-friday/561662/20 "2010-11-23T23:53:12Z")
> [@asterion](#): > > …I have found at times that low blood sugar can actually make the shopping experience less painful due to a feeling of detachment… You do know this statement is kind of hilarious, right? 😃 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-prepare-for-shopping-on-black-friday/561662.md?page=2)