Black Friday Report from Michigan.

Mmmm. That was a nice nap. And I really needed one after getting up early and leaving the house this morning at 5:15 to go after Thanksgiving day shopping.

And why would someone subject themselves to the thundering hordes that hit the stores on this busiest of retail sales days?

Edit: Actually, in our city it is only the 4th busiest of the retail sales days. My error.

Tradition.

I paid part of my college expenses through working retail in a China Shop. (Talk about the classic "bull in the . . . ") I loved the excitement of Black Friday then: the anticipation, the excitement, the people, the holiday spiritedness.

For a goodly number of years I worked in an office on Black Friday. I missed the mayhem, but you have to pay the bills. For the last ten years, our owner has closed the office over Thanksgiving for a long holiday weekend. **smooches** This has enabled the sister-in-laws and me to hit the stores.

Tradition.

Tradition is strongest, I believe, when it is flexible. Four years ago we started taking a couple of the older girls with us when we went out on the post-Thanksgiving foray. We stopped at a photographic booth in the mall for a picture of the girls. It was one of those booths that takes a picture then renders it in a pencil sketch according to an artist's style. The pics are Leonardo, Raphael, Michaelangelo or Rembrandt. We've taken one each year since.

This year the 12-year-old nephew joined the entourage. We again hit the photo booth. Three pics are taken, and then one pose is chosen for the rendition. As a lark for one of the poses, the two girls put the boy cousin in the middle, smooching him from both sides. The other two poses were standard straight ahead smiling faces. Guess which one the kids wanted printed? Yep. The smoochey one. A new addition to the tradition.

As to the Black Friday report, from our visit of one mall, one Meijer, and one Target:

1. Sales are brisk, but not record.
2. People have achey feet, and multiple remedies for said feet were the major door-busters.
3. People are cold. Many throws are featured. Best selling ones appear to be variations of down-filled, followed by patterned fleece.
4. Cranium is one of the go-to games this year.

Edit:
5. Girls prom dresses are sleek with spaghetti straps and cut on the bias ruffles.
6. Best Buy might have had the best buys. Their line was huge!

For alternate thoughts on shopping the day after Christmas, check here.

And how was your Black Friday?