Black Friday Madness

I am not a shopper. Nor am I an super early morning person. In my mind, waking up before 5:30 for anything is just nuts. Because of this I have always avoided the madness of Black Friday. But when I heard there was a need for Sub-for-Santa volunteers at a local store I signed myself up. I knew I would have to wake up at 3:00 in the morning (gasp), but it is such a good cause, and I sincerely believe that everyone deserves Christmas!

So I set my alarm for 3:00 am. I don’t think I have ever done that before. I got up and donned my warmest clothes over some borrowed thermals (thanks Liz!) and skiing socks, and headed off into the darkness and mist (yup, there really was a mist this morning).

The store that I was volunteering at didn’t even open until 5:00. When I arrived at 4:00 the lines were already HUGE. We handed out hot chocolate and told the people in the lines what we would be doing while we waited for the doors to open. When they said they needed two people two take care of the table directly inside of the doors, my hand shot in the air. When else would I have the chance to watch the stampede of Black Friday shoppers from head on? A perfect seat.

I got to go into the store five minutes before it actually opened. You should have seen the looks I got! We settled down at our Sub for Santa table and watched as the employees all joked about who would open the door. The crowd around the doorway got thicker and thicker. A fight almost broke out. Then, the clock chimed 5.

All four doors (both entrances and exits) were instantly filled as people sprinted into the store. I imagine it looked a lot like the Running of the Bulls. I watched with unconcealed amazement. I have never seen anything like it in my life. I had heard stories before about how scary Black Friday can be, but having never experienced it myself I didn’t know quite how serious shoppers are! I was glad to be safely hidden behind my Sub-for-Santa booth.

People had many strategies. Maps were handed out before the store was opened, so they knew exactly what routes they wanted to take. Many groups split up. Other groups planned to avoid aisles completely. It was very impressive.

I spent a while longer in the booth, then outside collecting donations. It turned out to be a lot of fun. It was cool to experience Black Friday for myself, and to see how generous people really are, especially around Christmastime!

I learned something interesting today. They said that they are able to get quite a few donations for babies and children, but it is hard to get people to buy gifts for 12-18 year olds. Just something to keep in mind as we enter into the holiday season.

While it was a very entertaining experience, I doubt that I will ever be a Black Friday shopper!