My mother and I wake up at 3:00am every Friday following Thanksgiving. It’s tradition. We throw on our game faces then grab our purses and head out the door into the cold, harsh world ready to fight for our deals. Black Friday is every woman’s favorite holiday and every man’s worst nightmare. During these 24 hours some of the most intense, dangerous, intimidating and fulfilling shopping will be taking place for the holidays. 

I would like to give you a few hints on how to get the best of your holiday rampages. Read more if you think you can handle Black Friday, but let me remind you, it’s a jungle out there. 

1.     First and foremost, make sure you plan to go to bed early on Thanksgiving Day and set multiple alarms.

Hint: A glass of wine and some turkey will knock you right out.

2.     A couple days before Black Friday, go online and look at who is having what sales and then visit each store’s website to print off coupons.

Hint: See http://www.theblackfriday.com/ for a list of popular stores and what they plan to offer. Then go to coupon websites, like www.couponmountain.com ,  http://moneysavingmom.com/category/coupons , http://moneysavingmom.com/category/coupons , etc,  individual websites also provide coupons, Abercrombie and American Eagle often post printable coupons on the page and you get their sale PLUS the coupon. I once got A&F jeans for $15, brand new, because they combine their sales and coupons!

3.     Lay everything out the night before.

Hint: Choose your bag well (too heavy makes you too tired, too small makes it hard to keep up with and nothing fits), your shoes (no heels, whatsoever - sneakers are perfect), your clothes (layer, layer, layer – you’ll freeze waiting in line and be overheated inside the mall), put coupons in chosen bag, as well as pain killers, a bottle of water, fiber bars and some cover up and hand sanitizer.

4.     Plan ahead. Know the various deals and who is opening when and which places are offering gift card at the door or little presents, this way you know where you need to be to get the best deal.

Hint: If you have multiple places you need to be, bring multiple people and spread out. Give each other a list of what to grab and some cash – this especially works well for deal buster deals where only the first 100 or 500 people get an extra discount or a gift. 

5.     The day is here, you’re awake, dressed and on your way to the mall. When you arrive, if you aren’t first in the line or close, try to get an idea of where you’ll be.

  Hint: Remember most malls have more than one entrance to the same store, especially department stores (Belk, JCPenney, Dillard’s, etc) Try the outside main entrance, the side door and if those are all full, the inside door works as well and is typically warmer, but opened last.

6.     While you wait, have a small breakfast (your pre-packed fiber bar and water) until something else opens up.

7.     When the doors open, it is all a fair game. Unless there are small children around you, go in like a linebacker for the Cowboy’s – elbows swinging – but don’t forget to stop at the door for your gift!

8.     And so begins your fight. Take time to remember which stores had the best deals.

Hint: Go to the deals first because they typically run out of stock after an hour.

9.     Pay attention to where everyone else is going. You may have missed something.

10.  Don’t forget to eat, you’ll need the energy.

11.   Once the mall is done, go to the other, less impressive stores like Walmart for small stocking stuffers, Hobby Lobby for decorations, etc. These stores run out of big things like electronics and games, but keep a steady stock of normal things. 

12.   HAVE FUN!!!

I hope your Black Friday will bring you lots of deals and steals J Good luck.