I have an issue with what Black Friday has done to my Thanksgiving. For me Thanksgiving marks the start of the holiday season, the time of year when I spend time with those close to me and take more time to enjoy the smaller things in life that often go unappreciated. Black Friday has taken some of that holiday spirit away from me.
As I drove to celebrate Thanksgiving on Thursday afternoon, I saw at least five tents waiting in front of Best Buy. No doubt, they wanted to be the first to get their hands on a killer deal for a new TV or computer. Granted you might save a good amount of money waiting in line for a couple of days. However, as an employee of a retail-clothing store, allow me tell you that Black Friday does not always ensure the lowest prices.
What concerns far more than anything though is all the people who are standing in line trying to save a buck are putting TVs, computers, clothes, and all other sorts of material items ahead of their family's Thanksgiving. The most troublesome part of it all is the millions of people who work retail jobs have to cut their family dinners short to service the long lines of customers pushing and shoving their way to dollar deals at two in the morning.
Why do companies open their doors so early? Can't the money saving madness start at a reasonable hour and not cut into our thanksgiving dinners? I love buying gifts for my family and friends but what I love more than that is spending time with my family and friends. At what point did our holiday shopping become more important that our holidays? Maybe we should all take few minutes this holiday season and make sure that our priorities are correctly placed.
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