Black Friday 2007.

As in a previous post, I gave the history of our experience with Black Friday. This year, we kicked things up a notch.

In the weeks before Black Friday, we browsed the ads online, began to make our choices and added them to a list. Kmart was having a Thanksgiving Day Sale, starting at 7am. On the front page of the ad, they had two big items: a Wii (already have one) and a 32” Olevia Flat Screen LCD Television. If anyone knows Jim and I, we have two televisions, both 20” and they are not exactly the best feature of our place. Every year, we buy one joint gift and decided to try for this television on Thanksgiving Day.

I decided that the Kmart by our house would be the best bet, so we decided to scout the layout of the store the night before. Jim then asked a salesman how they would be distributing the tvs. (The ad had both items VERY LARGE on the first page, so we knew they would be what everyone wanted). The guy told us that at 4am Thanksgiving morning, they would be handing out tickets for the Wii and the TV. We then traveled home to plan our early morning.

I then told Jim that I would brave the cold in the morning at woke up at 2:30 a.m!!!! I gathered my stuff together and bundled up. Jim jumped out of bed because he didn’t want me waiting out there alone. We got to Kmart by 3:15 a.m. and only two people were in line! We waited. Only three other people came after us! At 4 a.m., the manager came out and distributed the tickets. Everyone got what they wanted. We all went back to our cars and planned to see one another at 7 am when we could pick up our goods!

At 6:30 a.m., we grabbed our gear and tickets again (we picked up two for the tv since we didn’t know if family members would want one). Before we pulled up to the store, I asked Jim what time he would have come to stand in line if we didn’t know about the tickets. He said about 6:30 a.m. since it was a Thanksgiving Day sale and it’s Kmart! Boy was he wrong! Thank goodness we got our tickets earlier because at 6:30 a.m., the line was to the end of the store and all of the TV tickets were LONG GONE!

We stepped in line and asked about the TVs. Someone said, “Oh no honey, you’re not getting one of those!” Little did she know…As the line progressed, an older guy noticed we had an extra ticket. He asked if I would sell it to him for 2 bucks, I raised him three dollars and made a $5 profit on a stupid ticket!!!!!!!! Once we got inside, Jim grabbed the TV (which was in a waiting cart and appeared as though someone was trying to take it). Then he ran to one end of the store with a cart and TV in tow! I grabbed the electronics we needed, then headed to the toys for some games. We hit up the Christmas decorations and grabbed a much needed tree skirt and headed for the checkout. Yay, Success!! I must wonder though – why do people come out on Thanksgiving Day for a huge sale and then complain the entire time that they didn’t get what they wanted? They also question the clerk’s every move as she scans the items in. My theory? If they don’t have what you want, leave! Don’t stay and buy things that you “think” are on sale. Yikes. All of this amazingness happened on THURSDAY! Yay for an additional day of shopping!



Now onto Black Friday. We still had a general list from when we had looked online and planned our day! Typically, we head to a few different stores and this year, we decided to start at Target. This year, Marisa, my sister-in-law, decided to join us – she had never done this before!! Even though we did not need any bigger items, I wanted to make sure we got everything we needed. At 2:15 a.m., we woke up and bundled up to head out. Jim wasn’t feeling well, so Marisa and I went it alone! We ended up getting to Target on 191st and Harlem by 2:30 a.m. and got into line with our chairs and blankets – we were numbers 8 and 9! W00t! Success. Best Buy already had a huge line and their parking lot was FULL! Behind us, there were also some people that had never done this before, so I gave them advice. It was freezing, but Marisa was a real trooper and occasionally, her glasses would fog up! Target was extremely organized and also handed out awesome red Shopper Survival Bags with coffee grounds, granola bars, and animal crackers! Yay for freebies! Jim finally joined us at 5:30 a.m. and we got the people behind us to pretend to yell at him for “cutting.” Jim got very defensive until we all started to laugh!

Once inside, Marisa ran to toys and I ran to DVDs/electronics. We each ended up grabbing a cart since we took time finding each other. We filled two carts to the brim, and then headed to the pharmacy/grocery area to sort our finds! We also hit up the dollar section, decorations and housewares. Jim got our traditional Christmas CD (a jazz collection) and I grabbed some really awesome gifts! Marisa was able to find some toys and miscellaneous items for the kids! I wanted this stand mixer (not a kitchenaid) that was only $25. When I got there, they were out, but another woman said they would be bringing more. We got to talking and realized that if we didn’t find where they brought them out, we would miss them because people would start grabbing them off the cart. The woman then found the right people and had been thoughtful enough to grab me one!! What a nice thing to do and especially on what is usually the rudest day of the year! We headed to the check out and were surprised at our bounty. I finished everyone on my list and before I started I had had a lot of people to finish buying for! Definite success! We ended up with DVDs, grab bag gifts and loads of other things!

We stopped off at the beauty shop to share in our good fortune, then we headed to the mall for a quick stop at the Disney Store and KB Toys. Marisa bought a few things. We then went to Denny’s for an early breakfast/lunch and then back to the Marisa’s house for a quick nap. The day finally ended with a stop at Joann Fabrics where I got a huge frame for cheap and then back to my parents’ house for leftovers, pizza and the Elf with my brother and niece and nephews! I still have not caught up on sleep, but it was all worth it. Marisa already said she’s in for next year!!!!!