Black Thursday the New Black Friday?

Day 319

Is Thursday the new Friday? From the looks of it, Black Friday may soon be called Black Thursday! And if Thursday is black, what is Friday? Darker black? 

Here is a list of just some of the stores opening on Thanksgiving Day:
Meijer: Open 24 hours but the Thursday sale begins at 6 a.m.
Gander Mountain: 9 a.m.
Sears: 8 p.m.
Walgreens: 9 a.m.
Walmart: 8 p.m.
KMart: 8 p.m.
Target: 9 p.m.
Toys R Us: 8 p.m.
Old Navy: Midnight (of the 23rd)
Sports Authority: Midnight (of the 23rd)
Best Buy: Midnight (of the 23rd)
Kohl's: Midnight (of the 23rd)

Many of the stores are offering staggering deals, for example, Walmart will have different specials every few hours. I also noticed that even things that don't generally go on sale, like iPads and video game systems will have special offers like a store gift card with purchase. Again, I recommend www.bfads.net  for the most up to date information.

So what does this mean? Call me old-fashioned but what ever happened to enjoying a day with the family? By 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving, we are just settling in with pie and coffee. What do we do? Shoo out our guests because there is shopping to do? Maybe we should greet our guests with a carryout bag and send them back home to eat. Maybe we'll change Thanksgiving to Wednesday! It's CRAZY! Yes, there are good deals, but this is further evidence that the retailers keep getting us right where they want us: in frenzy mode. 

I am not sure what my plan will be this year. I encourage you all to do your homework and buy carefully. save your receipts. The best defense against the gigantic retail machine is a good offense so make your list and stick to it. But please, remember:  no "good deal" is better than quality time spent with good food and family.