Thankstaking

Is it just ME….or do you feel the world of gi-normous retailers is creating unnecessary frenzy with an early-ER start of “Black Friday”?

Remember when Thanksgiving was a day you looked forward to because it was about family and some downtime?  I loved Thanksgiving for so many reasons.  Primarily, it was because – by all degrees of comparison – it was a non-commercial holiday.  Other than grocery shopping it was the shopping-free holiday.  No gifts, no wrapping, no cards.  Breathe.  Enjoy.  Take off your shoes.  Relax.  Anticipate.  The Christmas Season starts …. tomorrow.

As a kid, I remember my Mom handing each of the six of us our “Christmas Club” money. Yes, Christmastime was here!  Every week, Mom put one dollar into an account for each of us.  It was magical. Come December 26^th, we began planning our shopping route.  We were natural born shoppers!  In those days, the process itself was as much fun as the actual gifting.  WOW, when was the last time I felt that way?

So, the announcements have been made.  Christmas will start on Thanksgiving – and earlier than ever.  Come on!  Can’t we have a traditional, dining room experience without the pressure of shopping?

But, is that the real pressure?

 

Let’s examine the evidence….

BLACK FRIDAY; what does that mean?  The truth is that the big stores hope to “get into the black”.  The pressure is really on them – they are just making it our responsibility!  I’m all about the freedom of making money, but… how do you spell gluttony?  Can’t we just overeat and come back an hour later and pull out the leftovers?

Thanksgiving is early this year.  That means we already have a longer-than-usual shopping season for Christmas.  Besides, most people I know cut back on holiday gifting years ago.  I did!

And what about the store workers who are supposed to be over-the-moon about working on a major holiday – yes, Thanksgiving is a major holiday.  Were they polled about this?  Was it made an optional work day?  I don’t even think they’ll get overtime because so many of these retailers only hire part timers – just so they never have to pay O.T. or pay for health insurance, paid sick days – OR HOLIDAYS!  (The reason, BTW, too many people have to find and hold-down 3 jobs – do the math Human Resources – it doesn’t make sense!)

Last year, I was shopping in Macy’s (we’ll deal with them later!)  I spotted a beautiful cashmere scarf for my husband.  It was $135.00.  It didn’t come home with me.  About a week later, it did!  70% OFF!  Yes!  Patience IS a virtue.  That was MY BLACK DECEMBER 19!

If we buy into the Black Friday Propaganda, aren’t we encouraging retailers to keep taking more away from our beloved Thanksgiving?  An extra hour here; an extra hour there.  For what?  Do that many people really hate football?  Is an annual meal with Aunt Lil just too hard to bear? 

What about all the prep that goes into creating the most memorable meal of the year?  Will that soon be forgotten, as well? 

Some of my family’s favorite memories are of the after-conversations and activity around the dining room table.  We share those memories with the generation too young to remember the good-old days.  Their faces light up; and they smile.  Guess what?  We are creating new memories; good memories.  Not memories about pushing, shoving, and waiting on lines – we can do that on any other day of the year.

So, I ask you, are you going to help guarantee that the likes of Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Sears, Best Buy…… put a few bucks in the till or are you going to help guarantee that a great tradition continues and that Thanksgiving has a day all its own?

And Macy’s?  Don’t you want to be remembered as, hello, The Thanksgiving Day Parade store?  Are you going to rename it The Black Friday Day Parade?  Must you throw a sale after the parade? You’ll get my dollar – one day, or another, but not on Thanksgiving. (FYI, Cher won’t be shopping at Macy’s on Black Friday, either – or ever; at least until they get rid of Donald Trump as a spokesperson!)

I also wonder where all the retail execs will be.  Are they pushing back from their feasts early and showing up for work on Thanksgiving, too?  I wonder (but, come on, I think we may know the answer to that already).

SO, IS it just me, or do you, too, want to tell the turkeys who make these decisions to stuff it?   

Do you think Thanksgiving should become Black Thursday, instead?  Please comment…

P.S.  And, Thanks for giving all that you do; today and every other day.  For you alone give us cause to stop, celebrate, and declare a special day!

KEEP THE GIVING in THANKSGIVING!