Another Black Friday come and gone.   I have to know – was it worth it for you?

I know people who plan their attack on Black Friday like it was a war mission.  They are truly professionals and are getting great deals.  Most of these people are also done Christmas shopping now.  I am envious. 

This year, after many years of resisting and staying in our warm beds, my husband and I decided to shop the Black Friday deals.   Well, my husband did anyway.

We started off on Thanksgiving evening at Toys R Us.  Their deals started at 10 p.m.   We loaded the kids in the car and took off – our kids fell promptly asleep.   The plan was the hubby would go in the store and grab the items we were there for.   I was along  for the ride and was happy to wait in the car with the kids.  When we arrived at our Toys R Us store, we couldn’t believe what we saw.  A line that wrapped around the ENTIRE building.  There were people who looked like they had been camping there all afternoon.   We were not expecting that. 

After finding a spot to park where we could watch the line, we sat and waited.  And waited.  10 p.m. came and went.  The line was still wrapped around the building.  Every so often the line would move slightly.  People were pulling in and leaving after seeing the line.   By this time, it was 10:20 p.m.  I had expected to be done by now….boy – was I off base!  Finally, a friend of ours went to the front of the line to talk to a police officer who was supervising.  They were only letting 50 people in at a time, so there would not be a stampede.  Great.  The sale only lasted until 1 a.m. and at this rate, we would never get in.   So, we left, disappointed and with nothing to show for our trip.

The next sale we wanted to hit was at our local Wal-Mart, which meant we could go home and go to bed for awhile.  The sale started at 5 a.m.  My husband got up and went out to Wal-Mart at 4:20 a.m.  He said it was the craziest thing he had ever been a part of.  Fortunately, that trip was not a waste and he was able to get the item we wanted, and a few other great deals.  I’m really turning him in to a bargain shopper!

We ended up saving $44 on the big items we bought.  I felt a stab of satisfaction after getting the ads in yesterday’s paper and seeing that two of the items we bought were each $20 more expensive than what we paid.   So, for us,  our first Black Friday shopping experience was worth the effort. 

Bring on Cyber Monday!