Conquering Black Friday!

Here's the blow by blow on the best Black Friday Shopping trip EVER! I brought along a camera for documenting purposes.

At 10:45pm on Thanksgiving, we grabbed a one hour cat-nap before heading out to shop. I made the mistake of putting on comfy clothes for this which made me not want to get up, but I forced myself.  The good deals were calling my name!

11:55pm- Mom and I loaded up and headed down to the Wally-World for the deals that started at midnight.  There were people camped out in the frozen food aisle with lawn chairs.  We grabbed the $1.97 and $5.00 movies that we went there to buy and one of the ladies in a lawn chair woke up and asked us if it was midnight yet so she could get her movies.  I didn't have the heart to tell her that they were almost gone already.

Here we are in my mom's zippy little car at midnight.  Not lookin' too bad....yet.

PTL (Praise the Lord) for my mom's car, because if we had to take my massive crew cab long bed pickup truck we would have had to park a mile away from all the action.

1:15am- Went home and took a 1 1/2 hour cat nap. I decided to sleep in my clothes and I tried to sleep like a mummy so I wouldn't wreck my hairdo or my mascara.  Mom decided to stay up and eat a turkey sandwich.

2:50am- Headed to Kohl's for a HUGE sale.  Pulled into the parking lot to find that the entire state of Arizona was at this particular Kohl's.  The sea of humanity wrapped around the building.  We took a deep breath, plunged into the crowd, and shopped for two hours.

 

Here's our loot. 

Next, we waited in a TWO hour line that wrapped around the store. One person shopped while the other waited in line, and then we switched.  Reporters from the local newspaper interviewed the "Crazy" shoppers in line about what possessed us to shop at 3 am.  If you have to ask, then you wouldn't understand. 

Total time spent at Kohl's= 4 hours

Total spent= $200.47

Total saved= over $400.00 + $30.00 Kohl's cash to spend online tomorrow!

Was it worth it?  ABSOLUTELY!

7:15 am- Arrived at Joann Fabrics.  I'm beginning to fade.  I need sustenance badly!



My eyes are bloodshot.

My mom took 20 minutes to decide on which decorative cellophane packaging she was going to buy for Christmas treats.  She called my dad to help her make a decision.  My legs are still numb from standing in the two hour line at the last store.  I sat in the aisle while she made the call.  Finally I give her the eye..."JUST CHOOSE ONE."

We both decide that I must get food or I won't be able to carry on any longer so we whip into Jack in the Box and grab a breakfast jack and a Dr. Pepper.  I felt refueled and refreshed!  Time for more shopping!

8:20am- The car has a mind of it's own, and swerves right into the Hobby Lobby parking lot.  We spent 1 1/2 hours here.

Ladies...everything in that store was calling my name! I was out of control. I was feeling a little sugar rush from the Dr. Pepper and the awesome gospel music playing on the loud speaker, and it put me in the mood to spend all of my money.  Thankfully my mother intervened before I bought the whole stinkin' store!

10:15am- Headed to Macy's for one item for my mother. The mall was a zoo so we did a Chinese fire drill at the front of the store where I switched to the driver's spot and circled while she shopped.

11:00am- Home to unload packages, eat a turkey sandwich and sleep for 1 1/2 hours.  We took showers, changed clothes and headed out for round two.  This time, my sister- in- law joined us!

2:00 pm- Headed to the cheesecake factory at the mall.  We prayed to Jesus for a parking spot, and I want you to know that there were 4 of them on the aisle we drove down.  A real miracle!

We had our first annual "girl's date" for a slice of Peppermint Bark Cheesecake on the first day it came out for the season.  If you haven't indulged in this little slice of heaven, then run...don't walk, to your nearest Cheesecake Factory!  You won't be sorry!

4:00pm- Toured the mall to walk off the 4 billion fat grams we just ingested. Bought Christmas soaps at Bath and Body Works, and smelled more perfumes and colognes at the department stores than a nose should sniff in one day.  Talk about nostril overload!  I put on 3 spritzes of my favorite expensive perfume and smelled like a street walker for an hour or so until it faded a little. 

5:00pm- Target.  Bought socks, stocking stuffers and looked at bedding.

6:00pm- The menfolk and children began calling to complain of hunger pains.  Who wants to cook after a full day of shopping?  We decide to pick up  pizzas.

8:00pm- Fell asleep on the couch where I proceeded to drool heavily.  I crashed hard!

I know that many people stay locked in their houses on Black Friday because of the crowds, but we experienced nothing but wonderful people full of kindness and Christmas spirit. It was just one day out of the year to miss out on a little sleep, and I treasured getting to spend it with my mom and new sister-in-law.  These little outings are a time of girl bonding, and making fun memories.  Oh yeah, and I saved a chunk of cash and got 3/4 of my Christmas shopping done in one day.

When you live nearly 4 hours from a mall, like I do, then you've got to make your list ahead of time, watch for the sales, and do a shopping marathon when you're in a city.  Now the rest of my shopping will get done online.  I just love great bargains.  What a fun day!