Well, did you survive Turkey Day and Black Friday?
I certainly hope so.
I myself have never personally partaken in any Black Friday activities. Every year after our family has stuffed themselves to the brim, settled into their couch or loveseat of choice, and have had at least a good 2-3 hours to converse and digest, the men then settle in for a game of Texas Hold 'em or high stakes TV watching and nearly all the women get locked and loaded for a full on Black Friday marathon starting at about 11:00pm. Every year I am invited to join in on the hunt for Christmas dealbusters, but every year I must decline the offer. My main reasons for passing on the midnight shopping extravaganza mainly revolve around being too full and tired to move, but there's a little part of me that declines simply because I wish to live to see another day.
I'm sorry, but shopping already stresses me out enough by itself, so once the fear of being trampled, thrown in a headlock, or shanked between the ribs enters into the mix, consider me out...
...every time I envision the crowds waiting outside of the store doors, I picture one extremist Black Friday shopper at the front of the crowd with a torch in one hand and a mega-phone in the other giving a speech to all the other die hards...
It goes something like..
"Welcome to Fight Club Black Friday. The first rule of Black Friday is: you do not talk about Black Friday. The second rule of Black Friday is: you DO NOT talk about Black Friday! Third rule of Black Friday: someone yells "stop!", goes limp, taps out, the fight shopping is over. Fourth rule: only two guys to a fight. Fifth rule: one fight at a time, fellas. Sixth rule: No shirts, no shoes, no service. Seventh rule: fights shopping will go on as long as they have to. And the eighth and final rule: if this is your first time at Fight Club Black Friday, you have to fight shop!"
"Now GO!"
By the way, in my quick Google search for the perfect Black Friday picture, I was shocked to see how many photos there were of people who had been seriously injured by the violent shoppers....
...only in America will we trample a person to death in order to save a couple bucks, 3 hours after sitting at our dining table with family to give Thanks for all that we are grateful for...
Ugh.
So for those of you like my in-laws who practiced peaceful shopping in a herd of crazies, I salute you!
...only in America will we trample a person to death in order to save a couple bucks, 3 hours after sitting at our dining table with family to give Thanks for all that we are grateful for...
Ugh.
So for those of you like my in-laws who practiced peaceful shopping in a herd of crazies, I salute you!
If you were one of the shankers, not so much...
Anyways, if you are like me and didn't have the energy or Fight Club mentality to risk life and limb for a pair of $5 slippers, then you probably spent your Thanksgiving night eating a 2nd or 3rd helping of pumpkin pie and dreaming about the next big Holiday..
...the Holiday to end all Holidays...
...the crème de la crème of Special occasions...
Christmas, baby!!!
I love me some Christmas.
I'm that person who started playing Louis Armstrong and Judy Garland music on the radio the second it started playing 24 hours a day. I have the urge to bake constantly, sip eggnog from a flask, buy bags upon bags of fresh cranberries, light candles that my make house smell like freshly fallen snow (apparently, according to Glade) and watch National lampoons Christmas Vacation, day in and day out until the man in red arrives at my door.
I love Christmas.
It's not really about the gifts for me...hence the reason I didn't go out for Black Friday, but rather it's just about the spirit of the whole season. I love the festivities, the great classic movies, the baking and the smells. The snow, the pretty lights and watching my children grow with anticipation a little more each day that Santa's arrival gets closer. It's just good, wholesome, stuff. I know that I will have to go buy gifts eventually so that my children have presents to open on Christmas Eve, but for the most part, I just want them to enjoy and bask in the warmth of the season, gifts aside. I really want to instill in them that a few presents are nice, sure, but family time will always be most important....
...and when they get older, I'd rather they cozy up on the couch with mom in slippers and sweatpants and a Christmas movie marathon to do a little peaceful, online Cyber Monday shopping while we stuff our faces with baked goods and eggnog with nary a Black Friday shanker in sight...
....Sounds good to me :)
Merry Christmas season everyone!
:) Ashley
...the Holiday to end all Holidays...
...the crème de la crème of Special occasions...
Christmas, baby!!!
I love me some Christmas.
I'm that person who started playing Louis Armstrong and Judy Garland music on the radio the second it started playing 24 hours a day. I have the urge to bake constantly, sip eggnog from a flask, buy bags upon bags of fresh cranberries, light candles that my make house smell like freshly fallen snow (apparently, according to Glade) and watch National lampoons Christmas Vacation, day in and day out until the man in red arrives at my door.
I love Christmas.
It's not really about the gifts for me...hence the reason I didn't go out for Black Friday, but rather it's just about the spirit of the whole season. I love the festivities, the great classic movies, the baking and the smells. The snow, the pretty lights and watching my children grow with anticipation a little more each day that Santa's arrival gets closer. It's just good, wholesome, stuff. I know that I will have to go buy gifts eventually so that my children have presents to open on Christmas Eve, but for the most part, I just want them to enjoy and bask in the warmth of the season, gifts aside. I really want to instill in them that a few presents are nice, sure, but family time will always be most important....
...and when they get older, I'd rather they cozy up on the couch with mom in slippers and sweatpants and a Christmas movie marathon to do a little peaceful, online Cyber Monday shopping while we stuff our faces with baked goods and eggnog with nary a Black Friday shanker in sight...
....Sounds good to me :)
Merry Christmas season everyone!
:) Ashley