thanksgiving day shopping

i will admit it

i love black friday shopping

i have shopped it for probably the last 3 years and plan on going out this year as well.

i've never had a list of items that i had to get because they were offered on crazy sales.

i typically shop the ads, make note of a few things that would work as christmas gifts or items i could buy for myself that i normally wouldn't since they are on sale.

really for me it's the start of the christmas season - and it's the furthest thing from stressful.  i've gone shopping with my aunt and my grandma - we get up at 6ish, stop at mcD's, make our way from various box stores to the mall, have lunch and call it a day!

it's more of a fun time spent with the ladies in my family who love to shop.  honestly last year i bought most gifts online - and i loved that too.  i love shopping at stores when i'm looking for special gifts or to get inspired to give someone something.  but bill's family basically sends out a list of things they want.  which takes the fun out of finding the perfect gift, but at least i can sit at work and shop from amazon for the specific thing they asked for.

that being said, i wanted to hop in on the controversy of retailers opening thanksgiving day.
 
i would assume workers are getting paid time and a half to work and hopefully are being staffed on a volunteer basis first.

and that those who do not wish to work the holiday are not forced to.

my stance is that if you have enough people willing to work then why not?  they might be sacrificing time with their families, but maybe they would rather have the extra income to pay for christmas gifts or necessities that the opportunity provides. 


as many people that are outraged at the idea - there are just as many people and more who will go out and shop.

i will admit - i will probably be at michael's on thanksgiving day to seek out a few promotional sales.

and in the years that i've been out during black friday - i always find the nicest people working.  i worked retail one summer during college - and while some of the big sales (i experienced the back to school rush) are overwhelming - the day goes by pretty fast and you kind of get caught up in the excitement of everyone spending.

i don't disagree with the ever increasing early sales.  retailers are trying to make up for sluggish sales earlier in the year, and if your company isn't making profit, then those who work retail might see their hours cut during the rest of the year. at the same time, i think big retailers should push for more online promotions to make up the difference in lieu of longer in store hours.

at the very least - i hope those retailers open on thanksgiving day are offering donuts, snacks, gift cards - some sort of extra bonus for their employees who have volunteered their holiday for their company.

who will be shopping black friday or thanksgiving day?  anyone opposed to the mass shopping days?