Chrissi B! Black Friday tips and links

I am a huge Black Friday shopper! You may recall that Black Friday, is the day after Thanksgiving when stores try to lure you in with amazing pricing and special deals. Each year stores print there advertisements weeks in advance and these ads are "leaked" to the public through local news, papers or online sources. Each year, I scour the web for our favorite retailers and make our lists.

Cutest Hubby and I set our alarm for the wee hours, pry ourselves out of bed and hit a few of our favorite stores. We have been doing this for a few years and we have had great results. It is great to have a shopping buddy, and you may need someone to stand in line for an hour and hold on to that five foot teddy bear! I did.

After years of entering this black hole we have come up with a few rules. If you too are thinking of hitting the store this year, feel free to use our hints:

• No malls before three in afternoon ....too much traffic to get to our local malls and just too many people to deal with while in the mall. Not worth the stress, wait a few hours and people scatter and store lines lighten.


• We want to be in and out. We will not wait in line with hundreds of people for one item. We know we will not get the computer for $300, or the Ipod for $50 ...We are practical.


• We refuse to camp out or sleep in the parking lot.


• We visit websites.


• We make lists and we use them.


• Be flexible. If shopping for one special item, scour all the stores and figure out the time, distance, etc. You may be better off to visit one store and pay a bit more because you actually have a chance to get that desired item.


• Don't waste your time standing in line for three hours when the big box store only has 25 MP3 players and you are the 400th person in line.


• After we have hit our favorite stores we head out to a quick breakfast, and then home for a nap. Rejuvenated, we may venture out again or go online .....All low stress. All fun.

If you too will venture into the depths of Black Friday, consider visiting a few websites to gather information about sales and promotions. With just a few clicks you can sign up for postings of your favorite store's sales and make your lists early. It is so helpful to be just a bit organized.

I hit Black Friday, info, they list many popular stores and I find their ads to be spot on. I have also checked out Black Friday.net, their site is easy to search and navigate.

Enjoy the fun and madness of Black Friday, enjoy the hunt, don't get stressed and have fun ....there is no gift that is so important that it should cause you stress. Shop smart and take someone to carry the packages ...enjoy!