My 1st Black Friday Shopping

It's quite funny to say that yesterday was my very first Black Friday. I have worked in retail for 12 years and normally Black Friday means working, not shopping. My experience working also means I have seen the good, the bad and the UGLY in the way people act for the deals, so I have not really felt the motivation to go out there and hit the BF jackpot. Well, this year I decided to give it a try and took Kerstin along so she could experience this "fun" American tradition.

Thankfully the Walmart near us is a 24 hour WM, so that was our first stop. Why? Because it meant we didn't have to stand out in 20 degree weather waiting for the store to open! DUH! We got there around 4am and quickly realized there were Power Wheel Jeeps still available for $88. Riley's "big" Christmas gift - done! Then we stalked out the shrink-wrapped pallets that were surrounded by other hopeful shoppers for the Doorbuster deals we were interested in. They would be available at 5am. And gone by 5:02am. Not kidding.

Kerstin stood by the new Samsung 10.2 megapixel digital camera (only $69!) and I stood by the HP 3-in-1 printer/copier/scanner (only $29). It was great being able to split up and of course we text'd back and forth :~)

At 5am on the dot we heard, "GO!" from a Walmart employee and it was GRAB WHAT YOU WANT time!! Literally, I think all hot ticket items were gone by 5:02am. There was no pushing or shoving. Everyone was very nice and respectful - I even made friends with 2 women standing near me and we chatted as we waited.

K & I picked up the HP for me, a camera, card/case pack and extra 2gb card for both of us, a set of Rubbermaid containers, checked out a few other possible deals and then headed to checkout. We were through checkout in less than 10 minutes. Easy-peasy!

So we were on our way to Target and got there about 10 minutes before they opened. The line was wrapped around the store - so we stayed nice and warm in the truck!! I got a Shark Stick Vac for $10 and a pair of non-sale gloves for $9.99. Yes, I do occassionally pay full price just for the heck of it. *gasp*

We left there and went to Kmart where we found $9.99 hairdryers and Kerstin bought a memory card for her phone. Not many other great items at the big K store.

Dropped the Jeep off at Gigi's so as not to spoil Xmas for the little one, dropped our other goods off at home (so as not to have the truck broken into!) and headed to Arundel Mills mall.

Children's Place had a great morning deal - 20% off all purchases before 11am- plus you could use any coupons you had (I have a rewards coupon for 15% plus will get a $10 coupon towards future purchases). I got all 3 boys new winter coats and 4 pairs of PJ's for $100.

Kerstin got new PJ bottoms & awesome cute slippers from Old Navy and I picked up some fleece pants and slippers for the boys.

So what do you do when you finish shopping at 10am and it feels like you have been up all day?? Go to Panera of course for some breakfast & coffee!!!!

Overall, it was a fun day. I don't consider my 1st BF shopping to be the biggest or the best but it was fun. I wasn't looking for tons of big deals because honestly, I know that prices will just keep getting lower and lower as we get closer to Christmas. But I got a few things we needed/wanted as well as a few gifts, so it was worthwhile.