Wedding Blog

It’s the most wonderful time of the year
With the lines forming early
And everyone rushing to get the best deals
It’s the most wonderful time of the year

It’s the hap- happiest season of all
With shoppers assembling and ads overflowing
Bar-gains big and small
It’s the hap- happiest season of all

There’ll be TVs for getting
And cameras for netting
And lay-a-way ready to go.
There’ll be high demand items
And tales of the great buys of
Black Fridays long, long ago

It’s the most wonderful time of the year
There’ll be much discount searching
And credit cards purchasing
Lots of cool gear
It’s the most wonderful time of the year

Oh, you thought I was talking about the Holidays? Sorry! Although I truly do believe the Holidays are the most wonderful time of the year, Black Friday shopping is another day that I look forward to when Thanksgiving is so close that I can smell the turkey roasting and the pumpkin pie baking. To me, Black Friday is the mother of all shopping days and I’m getting ready!

Source

The term “Black Friday” was coined in Philadelphia because of the heavy traffic the day brought. Now, the media uses the phrase in reference to the beginning of the period in which retailers are out of the red (losing money) and into the black (making a profit).

I consider myself an experienced Black Friday shopper. I remember going to Black Friday sales during the first year my oldest sister got her driver’s license, which would have put me at about age 11 or 12. It’s an annual event for me, my mom, and my sisters, and we have it down to a science. We know which stores to hit, which ones to avoid, which ones have the best parking and who has the most efficient checkout lines. Years ago, Black Friday wasn’t nearly as busy as it’s been in the last few. Lines are forming so much earlier and it seems that more people are coming at out for the bargains. I imagine that the current economy will only make this year’s post-Thanksgiving sale busier than ever.

While Black Friday is a great day to shop for Christmas presents, it also provides an opportunity to score some unbeatable deals on items for your wedding. Oh, and it can be lots of fun, too!

So, what items can you get a bargain on that you can also use for your wedding? Lots of things!

Electronics are huge crowd favorites on Black Friday, so if you are planning on doing a Fauxtobooth (a la Miss Fondue — I love that word, by the way!) you might want to check out Best Buy, Circuit City, or office supply stores for heavy discounts on digital cameras and photo printers. If you are planning on doing the iPod DJ thing, like Mrs. Tulip, hit up the stores for deals on MP3 players and other audio equipment.

Need some ceremony or reception decorations? Check out all of the department stores for doorbuster deals on candles, candle holders, baskets, vases, table linens, picture frames and wreaths. Stores like J.C. Penney, Macy’s and Kohl’s are good places to start.

Already married and looking to complete your registry or stock your kitchen with new appliances? You definitely want to check out Sears, Bed, Bath & Beyond, Macy’s, Walmart and Target. Kitchen appliances make up a huge chunk of Black Friday sales. Last year, Walmart had the coveted KitchenAid Mixer for ***drum roll please*** $139! What a deal! The discount retailer hasn’t released their Black Friday ad yet, but Kohl’s and Sears both have the mixer for $159 after mail-in rebates.

The Kohl’s Ad

I’m drooling!

And then, of course, there are the awesome sales at craft retailers, like Michaels and Jo-Ann’s, that only come around once a year. I haven’t seen anything on their sales yet, but they usually have similar deals from year to year. At Joann’s, you are usually greeted with an early bird special that nets you 20% off you total purchase, including sale items. And of course, on Black Friday, just about everything in the store is already on sale. Michaels has had a similar percent-off-purchase sale in the past, but I’m sorry that I can’t quite remember if it was 15% or 20%. However, I do remember getting a Fiskar’s paper trimmer for under $6 a year or two ago.

If you still need to buy anything for your DIY projects, this is a great sale to get it done.

So, are you brave enough to fight the crowds and score some major-league deals?  Here are some on my tips to help you get started, whether your shopping goals are for the wedding or to chip away at your Christmas gift list:

• Be prepared.  When the newspaper arrives at your house on Thanksgiving day, remove all of the advertising supplements and hoard them.  These ads will serve as you Bible of sorts for the next day.  Look over each ad and keep track of what deals you want to hunt.  Compare brands and prices to decide which store has the best deal on the item.  Also, note all of the opening times and early bird hours at each store.  Don’t forget to take any coupons you need (Jo-Ann’s!) and bring the ads along so you know are getting the right items when you’re at the stores.

• If you are impatient and want to know what’s on sale before Thanksgiving, check out Black Friday Ads or BlackFriday.info.   Yes, I’m impatient so I’ve already checked them out.  I also get email alerts from both sites so I’m among the first to know that Kmart is having an early bird special on men’s suede moccasin slippers.  I’m hard core.

• Get there early.  Like I said, lines are forming earlier every year.  If you are going after electronics, the lines at electronic stores probably start right after Mom serves the cranberry sauce.  Places like Walmart and Target aren’t much better.  We usually make Kohl’s our first Black Friday stop and the line isn’t too bad when we arrive at 2:30 or 3:00 am for the 4:00 am opening.  I would guess the bulk of the people arrive an hour or two before opening so their line wait isn’t too long.  I’ve seen tents and lawn chairs, but I’ve never brought them along on Black Friday.  Maybe I’m not hardcore after all.

• Know what you want, get in, grab it, and head for the checkout.  Checkout lines get full very quickly on Black Friday.  Everyone is trying to get in and out, and on to the next store.  If you aren’t fast, expect to wait up to an hour or more.   At that point, you have to ask yourself, “Is my bladder full?”

• Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.  Don’t push, shove, trample, cut in line or steal.  Shoppers are tired, cranky and impatient, so it’s easy to let your nasty side rear it’s ugly head. Sure, that mom of three has engaged you in one heck of a tug-of-war match over a printer. But before you beat her with your purse, ask yourself if saving $40 is worth spending the night at your local county jail.

• Bring a buddy. (Or two or more!)  The more the merrier!  The more eyes you have on the ground, the more likely you are to get the deals you want.  Teamwork, people!  It’s very effective.

• Price match.  If the digital camera you want at Sears is out of stock, see if another store, like Walmart, has the same item and will do price matching.  Most stores will not do this unless it is the exact same item, right down to the model number.  This is another good reason to have the ads with you.  Stores need to see their competition’s advertised prices in order to do the match.

• Don’t expect to get the doorbuster deals if you arrive at the store 2 hours after they have opened.  Most of the doorbuster items are available in limited quantities, so the store may only have a few on hand with no rain checks.  The people who wait in line the longest get through the doors first, giving them dibs on those limited-quantity, best-bargain items.  However, don’t let a late arrival stop you from looking for those items.  It’s rare, but sometimes people grab the items and, before they make it to the checkout, decide they don’t want it anymore.  Lots of times these items never make it back to their home on the right shelves.  And of course, there are always the abandoned shopping carts.  If no one is near it, it’s fair game.  ;-)  I’ve gotten a few bargains by scoping out abandoned buggies.

• Do a little research on brands.  If you like the idea buying a DVD player for $19, go for it.  But when it craps out on you 3 months later, don’t get upset that you freezed your butt off for 4 hours before the store opened and waited in the checkout line for 45 minutes just so you could bring it home.  Sometimes the doorbusters are junk that only serve as a means to get you in the store to buy more stuff.  If you do a little research before you hit the stores, you’d know if the product is worth the money and the time you spent to get it.

• Check out online Black Friday deals.  Most of the stores have deals through their websites similar to those at their brick and mortar locations, so you may be able to get comparable cyber-bargains without having to fight the crowds or change out of your PJs.  Although, it’s probably not as much fun as the physical shopping experience, it’s probably easier.

What’s the Deviled Egg plan of attack?  Me and my peeps start at Kohl’s at 4AM. (In line by 3AM or earlier!)  Our main target there is toys for the kiddos (my three nieces and three nephews) and some good buys on Christmas and home items.  Here and throughout the day, I’ll have my eyes open for good prices on candles for wedding decor.  (Also, I’m dreaming of a $159 KitchenAid Mixer.)  Next, it’s on to either Dick’s Sporting Goods, Old Navy, or Target, all of which have had 5AM openings in the past.  The doorbusters are picked over by that point, but other sale items are usually worth the trip.  Next, it’s on to Jo-Ann’s, which has opened at 6AM in the past.  Their 20% off coupon is usually good until 9AM, so we spend a little bit of time there.  This is probably the only store we browse through during the early bird hours.  It’s also probably the least hectic of all.  Know for sure that I’ll be putting some wedding invitation supplies in my shopping cart!

By that point we will be starving and will head off for breakfast.  After refueling our bodies and giving our feet some rest, it’s usually off to a mall to hit the department stores.  We normally wind up at Walmart or Best Buy at some point in the day, too, but never in the early morning.  I bet we will get home with a full trunk and sleepy heads around 2PM.  Black Friday shopping really wears you out!

Are any of you hitting up the Black Friday sales?  What are your favorite stores?  Are you going to also be looking to by some items for your wedding?