Planning Your Shopping for the Day After Thanksgiving

The day after Thanksgiving in the U.S. is known as Black Friday-one of the (if not THE) biggest shopping days of the year. The local paper is delivered with more ads than any other day of the year it seems and everyone wants you to come to their store first!

The sales used to begin at 6 am-but now this year several stores are opening at 4 am! For me, this may prove too early-I am a night person-when they get them starting at 12:01 am I will be there no doubt.

Now some of you may ask why am I even shopping, don't I have all my gifts purchased already? The answer to that is 2-fold. First, I have maybe 90-95% of my gifts purchased but still lack a few and usually I can wrap things up on this day with some great bargains. Secondly, I use the Christmas sales to purchase gifts for NEXT year-yes I really do.

Now I will share with you my secrets of making the most of the shopping the day after Thanksgiving and not going crazy throughout this newsletter. With a little planning you too can enjoy this fun filled day and get some great bargains along the way!

The first step is to have a newspaper from Thursday, November 27 handy, along with your gift list and a small notebook or notepad.

Now pick up your first ad and write the name of the store at the top of a page in your notebook. Make a notation of what time they are having their "door buster" sales.

Next, as you look through the ad, write down items you might like to purchase-making notations beside the item of whom you would buy it for, how much it is on sale and the regular price (if available), and when does it go off sale (some sales are for certain days and times).

Begin a new page for each store-this will help you plan out your morning and help you stay focused on what it is you want/need to buy at 4 am in the morning.

Finally, tear out all your pages and place them in order of the store opening time IF you need items during a certain time.

Prioritize based on what you plan to purchase.

Having these sheets will greatly enhance your shopping time during this hectic day of shopping.

Candy Cane Club members may download a PDF of this newsletter