Black Friday Starting on Thanksgiving RANT

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black-friday-shopping-fight

I have been going back and forth if I should write this post – I finally decided to should

I have been running Budget Savvy Diva for almost 4 years now – I have been through many Black Fridays as a finding deal blogger and consumer and I understand both sides of this situation

Some information you might not know about me I worked at Disneyland for 3 years – and I worked EVERY Thanksgiving – I have had to work a LONG 8 hour shift knowing my family was making memories at home without me – but I made sure to think the positive of the situation I was in the position to make sure Disneyland guests were having a wonderful day.

I have been seeing the trend of Black Friday Sales starting earlier and earlier ( heck Black Friday sales are mostly starting on Thursday this year)

I was a little shocked though that Toys R Us is opening their doors at 5 pm on Thanksgiving.

There is a plain and simple reason for this starting time – the economy is getting better meaning more money to spend on gifts. Retailers are trying to catch that money ( the early bird catches the worm or in this case money).

Will I be shopping on Thanksgiving — No.

But that is because I want to spend time with my family – now if my family wanted to go to Walmart together at 6 pm for Black Friday shopping I would.

The same outlook I had working at Disneyland I have now – look at the positive – with stores being open more hours ( most are usually closed on Thanksgiving ) more people will have the chance to work and earn money.

And if it makes you feel better I will be working on Thanksgiving too finding deals all day

I would love to know your opinion about the subject 🙂

I am posting Black Friday Deals ( I am trying to keep almost all them online until Friday 🙂 )

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  • Jenn B.

    Each year I would look forward to getting up early on Black Friday, in the wee hours of the morning, and scoring great deals on Christmas presents! When stores began opening on Thanksgiving evening, I refused to participate because these employees deserve to spend time with their families. Also, it took the FUN out of getting up at 4am and going shopping. This year I am not going at all. I will be shopping online, at home, without any chaos, and probably get better deals! Love your work btw! 🙂

  • Diana @ NannyToMommy

    It makes me sad that they are opening earlier. They have ruined the Black Friday tradition in my opinion. And I find it ironic that on a day we are suppose to be so thankful for what we HAVE, we are out to get what we WANT & don’t need. :C

  • Ann coder

    They way I feel about is…. Most people do not complain about these same retail workers working in Sunday. And I’m sure if they needed them they wouldn’t complain about help from a policeman, fireman or medical professional working on a holiday.

    • Ashleigh

      I agree with you. I don’t think the consumers should be complaining, it’s the employees that can. No one is forcing anyone to go shopping that’s your choice, it’s the employees that have to come into work. And some I know are actually looking forward to making extra money for the holidays. It’s annoying to me to see the complaining from people that are staying home with their families.

  • Kristen

    THANKSGIVING is for families. It is a time for giving thanks for the things we have, not a day to go out and buy material crap. There are 364 other days a year to do that. If we don’t shop, the stores won’t open. They’ll reserve their “amazing” deals for Black Friday and all the other days of the year. LET’S ALL AGREE NOT TO SHOP ON THANKSGIVING!

  • Kris

    Completely agree. I refuse to shop on Thanksgiving Day as well. I also refuse to put up Christmas decorations until after Thanksgiving. I just feel that society tries to rush right past it. I have too many things to be thankful for and I choose to stop, breathe and enjoy this Holiday.

  • Sara Klepp

    I am truly dissappointed that Black Friday shopping is starting Thurs in some stores. It is not right to take away most people’s family time. It’s my opinion and I’m stickin to it!!

  • Sarah

    I think that a lot of people are going to skip spending time with their families altogether because of this. I am only 24 and lost my dad this year and don’t have anywhere to go for thanksgiving so I will be shopping but those who have a family dinner should definitely cherish that time.

  • Deanna

    I understand that employees of these store want to make the extra money but thanksgiving is meant to spend time with family. i mean walmart is open 24 hrs a day except on Christmas. these days are meant to be all about family. its called black friday for a reason thats the fun of it. i went to black friday last year and missed spending time with my family because i was trying to get a good deal but then when i went to the same store but in a different town i saw the same item still on the shelf. so that made me feel so stupid to leave my family.

  • Kathie S.

    I don’t like this early thing on Thanksgiving, my girlfriend and I have had a tradition for years that I would go to her house at 2:30 or 3AM and we would map out our strategy for shopping on Black Friday. I know some people have to work (those in the military, service personnell, doctors, etc.), but sales people didn’t always sign up to have to work on a major holiday. I know some of them probably do need the money (and the job), so they are working. Stores rake in lots of money all year, and especially during the holidays, they should be closed on Thanksgiving and give their employees a decent wage (and Holiday pay for the day off). My friend is travelling a distance to have dinner with her husband’s family, and won’t be back until late in the evening, so we won’t be shopping on Black Thanksgiving. We will venture out in the wee hours of Friday.
    If stores are *that* desperate for the sales, they could do online sales on Thursday, that way no one would have to work, people who want to shop can do so without abandoning their families, and the kids would see you hauling in their Christmas presents after shopping at 5, 6 or 7 pm. Just my thoughts….Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.

  • Amber

    I actually live in MA, and we have “blue laws” where retailers CAN NOT open on Thanksgiving. And I am SO THANKFUL for that! Instead of opening at 4 am like they have they’re opening at 12:01 am, so it’s quite earlier and I’m not even really looking forward to that (debating even sleeping that night really…) But so glad they can’t open thanksgiving, because I wouldn’t be going, and I wouldn’t be shopping online on thanksgiving either. So I still have the opportunity to get the deals I want (hopefully!)

  • Stephannie R.

    It disappoints me that sales are starting on Thursday and stores are open. You take people from their families, and MANY do not want to be there, but are threatened with “you can be replaced.”
    My husband is a paramedic, and it is hard enough having him gone on Holiday’s for a service that is REQUIRED.
    I will NOT be out before 7 am on Friday. That is the hour I started scooting out back in 1999 when I first got excited about a Black Friday Ad (and the first year that I wasn’t working on BF, at a Day Care Center).

  • maggie

    I will be working this thanksgiving from 7pm until 1am. Then from 7am until noon on Friday. Yes, it is tough. We aren’t going anywhere this year, we didn’t invite anyone. We have 365 days a year to image memories. It’s nice to have a “holiday” to celebrate but we don’t need it. We make memories every day. It will be nice to get the time and a half pay, though!

  • Nicole

    I wish these people didn’t have to have time away from families, but as we all know, there are many fields of employment that do not get a “holiday”. Would you want your road plowed if there was snow? If that truck broke down there has to be someone to fix it, the hospitals don’t shut down, police still patrol, firemen still go on runs, gas stations are open, restaurants are open, movie theaters are open on Thanksgiving AND Christmas! You never hear anyone stand up for all of these people. It is their chosen field of employment. Depending on weather my husband may not be home. I have come to understand that. Anyways, yes I will be at my local Meijer tomorrow at 6am to get an iPod nano and a few other things the kids in the family want, and then out tomorrow evening with my mom and sister as we do every year…..shop till we drop!

  • joan vera

    I will not be shopping in retail stores on Thanksgiving. The tradition for us is that my husband and I get up very early and start the day with coffee together and then start the preparation of our Thanksgiving luncheon. He and I would normally spend time with relatives and not each other during the party time. However this year is different because we moved away from our relatives and live in this state all by ourselves. But I will still stay home and not go into the retail stores but I will have my laptop and shop online while he is watching the football game. So we will still be together but doing our own thing 🙂

  • Heather

    I am definitely not going out to shop tomorrow or the whole holiday weekend. I’d probably go Black Friday if I had children and needed to buy some toys. There just isn’t anything I need and I am tired of the Christmas creep. I just want to spend time with my family. My husband will be working Black Friday evening so at least I’ll get him all to myself Turkey Day. His store asked for volunteers first and I guess they had enough for tomorrow. I bet they end up calling to ask if he’ll come in early though=(

  • Ria

    I totally agree with you. What’s ironic is while we sit at the table and say what we are grateful for, only hours later, we;re running out to shop more stuff that we obviously don’t need all just to save a few bucks. I could never understand the madness of sitting in heavy traffic, driving around the parking lots looking for a spot, waiting in super long lines in stores that are obviously too hot and dealing with massive out of control crowds. And even sadder, we’ve become a society where we amass “stuff” out of want, not needs, and crying why we are in such debt. The only way retailers will get the message is by staying home, where we should be, gathered around by family and friends (without the darn electronic devices which have become glued to our hands). We’ve lost our moral compass and it needs to be reset. I have refused to participate in any shopping on Thanksgiving day or early Black Friday hours just to save a few bucks. Its time to examine our lives and be grateful for what we have – not what we don’t have. I’ve given up giving gifts to friends more than 2 decades ago when I got complaints that its too small, too big, too colorful, too bland, etc. I got fed up and did the best thing to teach them a lesson. All the money I used to spend on gifts now go to charity. Every year, one or two charities get picked in order to help people and animals who could really use the help and be utterly grateful. And I’ve asked my friends to do the same for me. Its now become tradition that my friends choose a charity (every year we choose new ones). Its a win win situation. We don’t need more stuff. We need to show our kids, our future generation, that its better to give than to receive and teach charity from the heart and in our homes. That’s my rant.

  • Melissa

    I use to work Black Friday at toys r us and dreamed of the day I could be one of those “crazy” parents outside waiting at 1am for the doors to open at 4am. Now that toys r us is opening thanksgiving night I’m rather bothered! I’d much rather spend the time with my family, as you stated, making memories. Material items can wait. You can’t buy the memories!

  • brianne

    I agree. Is it NOT a need for anyone to work on Thanksgiving in a retail setting so people can fight and save a few dollars on things they probably really don’t need. Sad. Keep the tradition, what is the harm in waiting one day!!

  • Sharon

    I think the real point here is being missed. Thanksgiving is a time to spend time with your families, Let’s not turn this Holiday into another retail circus. There are plenty of days to shop – there is only one Thanksgiving per year.

    Yes, I understand that there are people who still have to work – but they are working to perform a valid function. Forcing people to work so the retailers can get one more day of sales per year is NOT a valid function.

    Saying that the early bird gets the cash – is again ridiculous. There’s no rule that says that they have to save their doorbusters for Thanksgiving – they can and do offer doorbusters on any other day they choose. They can move Black Friday to the prior week, etc.

    I boycott Black Friday every year. And I this Christmas season, I will boycott every store that opens on Thanksgiving Day. But then I boycott Walmart and McDonalds for not paying their staff a living wage. I boycott Red Lobster and all the restaurants who put their staff on part time to avoid medical coverage. I believe that we should use our dollars constructively. Maybe there should be more to our lives then scoring another big “deal”.

    I remember EVERY Thanksgiving with my family, but a year from now that big “deal” will be long forgotten.

  • Ashley

    My family and I used to watch holiday movies after Thanksgiving dinner and plan our trip for Black Friday sales. It was a family tradition. Black Friday being so early has made our plans almost non-existant. The biggest focus of Thanksgiving is spending time with loved ones. This year will consist of eating Thanksgiving dinner (for me its eating soft stuff- just got my wisdom teeth out!), watching hallmark holiday movies, and looking online at possibilities for Christmas shopping. On Black Friday, the only place we are going is PetSmart. At least they have some sense to not make people work on Thanksgiving when they should be spending it with their families.

    P.S. Got my mom hooked on your site! She always asked me if there was any good deals on BudgetSavvyDiva! (She’s new to online shopping!) Thank you again for everything you do!

  • Di Adra

    Thank you for your REASONABLE response. There are numerous people in numerous areas working tomorrow. Nobody is upset for them. NO ONE is required to shop tomorrow. Instead of spending time being upset how about just be THANKFUL for the folks like pilots, emergency workers, 911 operators, power workers, and postal workers (like MY husband who WILL be at work tomorrow) who are making a choice to WORK for their family, as are the people who will be WORKING tomorrow at stores. Just be thankful.

  • Sherri

    I totally agree with you. I am usually out there early Friday morning fighting for those deals and I was upset last year when I had to eat and dash because stores were opening at midnight. We eat a late dinner for Thanksgiving and in order to get in line I had to eat and run last year. This year the sales are starting so early that i would end up missing dinner with my family all together. I am not going to put off my family time and time to give Thanks to go fight with people in the stores. So I am with you and NOT shopping on Thanksgiving and I may not shop at ALL on Friday. I hope you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving. 🙂

  • Megan

    My mother and I decided that we are going to go shopping at Walmart at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving. In our town, we have an angel tree where all of the children whose family is below the poverty line receives Christmas gifts anonymously both ways. Only allowed to spend $30 per child, my mother and I decided to go buy the $4 pajamas and bedtime story book for $5 on special. We try to buy an outfit, shoes, pajamas, and a toy for each child and that is hard to do with $30. Even though we may be leaving our family for a short time to go to Walmart, I think that that time spent will be well worth buying more for a child in need.

  • Nicole

    I have shopped Black Friday with my mother and sister for over 15+ years and have never once seen people fight or trample each other. I must be lucky cause I have seen it on the news!

  • irishbrat38

    I am one of those who will be working at a big box store on Thanksgiving. The only thing I can say is, if the customers don’t shop….we wouldn’t be open. As for the Christmas Angels….that tree is still there on Black Friday so why ruin MY holiday time with MY family by using this as an excuse. People may say, they work retail….they should have known better BUT…retailers were never open in the past on Thanksgiving so expecting us to have the foresight that it would happen is ridiculous. What’s next? Being open on Christmas too? So you can all buy the batteries you forgot to purchase before hand? As for those of you who are saying we’ll be appropriately compensated….FYI…associates don’t get “great pay” for working on holidays because the company makes you take an extra day off!

  • Kathy

    I have to agree with you on all points. I worked for 10 years for the USPS and worked Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Easter…all of them. My daughter was very young and I was a single Mom, so yeah, knowing she was with her Dad on all those special days while I worked was hard…but my job was affording us a better lifestyle. We’d shop the day after Christmas, and she knew waiting meant she’d get twice as much as before Christmas so she grew to have an appreciation for doing things a little on the unconventional side, not to mention that we’d spend lots of time together shopping and doing girly things once the holiday was over. The memories we made were different, but not any less special. To all who object to stores being open on Thanksgiving because people should be with their families, well, would you like the Police, nurses, EMS, Fire, etc. to all be off so they can be with their families? Don’t THEY deserve the same treatment? No, I think most would be very upset if everything closed down and there was no one to fill those needs. If you accept a job, especially in retail, you have to take the good with the bad as far as time off goes, so I think everyone should just accept that people are doing the jobs they agreed to and enjoy their holiday their way, and let others do the same.

    • Jennifer

      Thank you for this post. I am sitting at home alone with my youngest son because my husband is a Deputy and it’s working, I am missing my oldest son because he is a new Marine and unable to come home. My family has chosen to protect and serve this country and no one whines or cries about them having to work. They do not get overtime for today. I am a recruiter and I fill positions for the holidays and almost everyone hired is wantingt o work and get paid for today. They get very good perks for working these sales. Stop complaining and be thankful for the people who are willing to work today.

  • Peon Ata BigBox

    I will be one of the millions working this holiday at a big box store. Did I get the option? no. Do I get ‘extra pay’. Barely. A whole $1/hr for the wee hours of the morning. But I am grateful to have a job. I do ask though, that all of these opinions, not be directed at the peons sitting behind the desk or register. All we can do is nod and shake our head politely. We’re not going to tell management, we’re not going to write comment cards. If YOU want to make a difference, write the corporate headquarters, comment cards, and surveys. Not the peon behind a counter. We just have to deal with awkward situation and hope you hurry your tales of woe and move outta the way so the next 40 people in line can buy their useless junk at half price too. Two thirds of which, will be returned within a month. Step off your high horses, smile at the cashier, and remember they don’t want to be here as much as you don’t want them to be, but because you Are shopping (and online counts people, someone takes that order in on Thanksgiving), then the corporate will follow the dollar. Thanks! —Peon Ata BigBox

  • Michelle

    Wasn’t the whole idea of Black Friday to get up early as heck to be the “early bird” and get the deal? Can’t be an early bird when most people are usually up in the evening, so it’s less of a rush to get the good deal.
    I never have shopped Black Friday. I’ve never seen an item with an amazing price to make me want to. I can get good deals other times of the year for items we need with coupons, thrift stores, garage sales, or trading with others. And not want to pull my hair out standing in line 🙂
    Instead of worrying about buying gifts for family, spend time with them.