Mommies Magazine

Normal Black Friday Shopping Mistakes to Avoid and Make the Task More Effortless

Posted on 02. Oct, 2008 by Mom Mag in Your Home

photo credit: hartman045

Holiday shopping on Black Friday can be stressful , but with a few tips you’ll breeze through it in no time . It may seem to some that the Holiday Season and all of the related shopping and agony are still a long way off. Well, News Flash! It really isn’t. Have you checked your calendar recently and been left wondering what happened to the Summer ? Another couple of months down the line here and before you know it the happy season will be upon us.

In one respect you might be accurate . The needful planning of gift lists, meals to prepare and holiday cookies to partake might not be far off, but the stressful experience can be less stressful if you start harmonizing now. Children change everything, including Holiday plans.

The need to plan early is especially real for parents of new babies and toddlers. You have spent months contemplating about trips to Santa, Christmas morning and sugarplum dreams. These first few Christmases spent with your baby and toddler are about as much fun as it gets. Don’t spoil it by letting the stressful experience get in the way. Buying for and sharing the holidays with a child should be fun ! It can be!

I know from shatteringly bad events that lack of harmonizing can spoil the season. I remember as a young mom getting geared up to get my Christmas buying done. I contemplated each post-Thanksgiving day sale ad methodically . Up to that time I had no kids and felt no need to take on the crowds in the post-Thanksgiving madness .

I had yet to expose myself to the flashy ads promising untold specials in both dollars and time. What pushed me over the top and eventually kicked off a 5 am shopping spree was the ad featuring the ultimate pedal bike for my son. It was attractive, and a full 25% off the sale price. This put the coveted selection in our price range. I knew he would just love it and only one thing stood in my way: the actual buying of the selection .

With purse, cash and newspaper flyer in hand I found myself shuffling out the door at 4:30 am on Black Friday, trying not to look at the load of thanksgiving dishes still needing my attention. Dishes could wait, today I had a mission : get one of the kids pedal cars for my three-year old. I returned home later that day with the pedal toy and a vow that I’d never, ever venture farther than my kitchen during the day after Thanksgiving buying madness.

In recent years I have reneged on my vow to never step toe out of doors during buying hours the weekend following Thanksgiving. Now with a bit of careful organizing I look forward to 3 am suicide missions seeking the ultimate tricycles for my twins.

I have profiled a few ground rules and have a much more rigorous preparation routine than the naive shopper who once spent three hours snarling and snapping over Radio Flyer Wagons. I’ll share my secrets! I am glad to. After all I am reformed and love my yearly buying spree. Don’t we all want to share what we love with others? Look for articles to follow that walk you through the organizing and execution of blissful Holiday shopping on Black Friday, no matter how many toddlers are in your life .

And if you are not wanting to go the crowd route at all, I suggest buying online and skipping the crowds altogether!

Tags: black friday, parenting, shopping