Let me start by saying that I will not be working this Thanksgiving. I will be spending the afternoon with my family.
However, I have worked Thanksgiving almost every year in my adult working life. Why is this? For the majority of my adult life I have worked in hotels. Here a news flash for those that didn't know...hotels are open 24/7, 365. When it came to holidays we either got them off based on seniority, a raffle, or in some cases we could all figure it out among ourselves and make sure the holidays were covered. A lot of other jobs are like this too...gas station attendants, airport workers, and snow plow truck drivers to name a few. Yes, I'm sure we all would like to be home with our families on the holidays, but where would people sleep if their relative's house wasn't big enough to hold the whole family, how would they get gas for their trek (yes, I know you can pay-at-the-pump, beside the point), how would they get across the country to see long-distance relatives, and how would they even think to get around in certain parts of the country that get snow before/on Thanksgiving (ie. Minnesota)?
That brings me to the other side of this coin. In some cases, it's not the workers people are concerned about, it's all the people that are going to forego their holiday traditions and line up, sometimes in frigid temps, to be in the door first for whatever electronic they can get their hands on. "This is the deterioration of society and family traditions." I won't disagree with you, but can't we agree that big chain stores being open on Thanksgiving is not where it started? We could talk about this subject all day! My main point is this, if you don't want to shop on Thanksgiving, don't shop on Thanksgiving. If your holiday traditions are more important than clawing your way to the last 50" TV for $40 then don't go shopping on Thanksgiving. Everyone has their own reasons for what they want to do, let them make their own decisions. As far as the big box stores, they are going to do whatever makes them money and if people want to shop on Thanksgiving, they are going to let them shop.
You're probably thinking "she said she was torn about this subject, but she's been supporting the whole time", let me continue. This whole Black Friday nonsense started about 40+ years ago with shoppers simply starting their holiday shopping the day after Thanksgiving (the unofficial start to the holiday season). Retailers saw this as an opportunity, offering discounts and specials to draw customers away from the competition. As competition became more heated, the opening hours of the stores became earlier and earlier until they spilled right into Thanksgiving Day. (For more history about the day, click HERE.) This is where I feel remorse. Consumers were the ones that "started" the day, but retailers were the ones that took the reins. So, who's fault is it? Should we blame the big box stores or ourselves?
This is where someone might start lecturing and say "the only way to stop them is to stop buying from them". Yes, this is true, but is it feasible? Some people will say yes, they do not shop at big box stores. Others will say that they will still shop at big box stores, just not on Black Thursday/Black Friday. My theory: you can't boycott a store one (or two) days a year but continue to shop their on a regular basis...you're not really taking much of a stand, are you? But enough lecturing. :)
I, for one, will be shopping on Black Thursday/Black Friday. Whoa...now before you get all upset, you have to realize that I'm going to continue to shop at Target, Herbergers, Menards (etc.) throughout the year, I already told you how I feel about the stores being open on Thanksgiving, and just like Thanksgiving dinner with the family, Black Friday has become a sort of tradition in my family. We have fun with it. I am hoping to write a "How to Have Fun on Black Friday" blog but we will see how that goes after I experience it this year. :)
Before I leave you to ponder, I want to draw attention to another important shopping day, one that I fully support and believe in no matter what anyone thinks...Small Business Saturday! What are you doing on Saturday? Probably trying to figure what to do with the leftovers you still have from Thanksgiving? Take a few hours and go explore your local merchants and show your support of what they do to enrich your community by supporting their business.
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