The Holidays

Well, Thanksgiving has came & gone, and with it  has come the start of the holiday season.  Christmas, New Years, friends & family, the joy of the holidays - - - - - yeah,RIGHT!

First off, there is Black Friday.  Getting up at 2:00 in the morning to get to the stores and try to get that Special Purchase - along with thousands of other people, most of them after the same thing (or things) you are.  Crowds, pushing, fights, cold temperatures and hot tempers - all for that "Special Purchase".  Is it worth it?  I used to say "yes it was", but not any more.  We haven't been to a Black Friday event in YEARS.  But even when we went, we did it a little differently than other people.  

When we went to a store for a Black Friday special, we weren't always looking for that "hot seller" (usually stereos, TVs, or Computers, etc.)  No - we went looking for the Propane Turkey Fryer, or something similar, so that's where we went first.  Then, after the crowds died down, we walked calmly over to Electronics and, wonder of wonders, they still had a pallate and a half of that Special Sale Item, and we got one (or two) anyway.   By doing this, we missed out on the fights, the pushing & shoving, and the ensuing police action (yes, arrests were made).  And we still got that "Special" deal.

Now one time, we did luck out - we went to a store that had a special on a stereo system, and we wanted two.  We were standing in line outside the front door, and could see a large stack of boxes over in the women's wear department.  It sure looked like stereo systems to me.   The door opened - and EVERYONE ran towards the Electronics Department (except for about a half dozen of us that had noticed the boxes) to get their stereo.   Now Electronics was in the far back of the store, so it took the rushing throng a couple of minutes to get there.  We in the meantime walked over to the stack of boxes we saw, and lo & behold there were the stereos we wanted.  So we got our two and slowly walked to the cashier.  As we were checking out, here came the mad dash of people from Electronics, heading for the stack of stereos in the Ladies Wear Department.   We just LOVED it!!! 

But like I said, we haven't gone out in Years.  Many stores are now even open on Thanksgiving Day, so we can usually get a good deal on what we want then, and avoid the Black Friday throng.  Plus we can order online at most stores, and pick it up in the store at our leisure, and still get Black Friday prices.

Well it's done - but now it's Cyber Monday - the day for everyone to go online and shop.  So what do we do - go to the stores and shop there.  Many of the "Cyber Monday" items are available in the stores, so again the throng is missed.  I bet that there are a lot of you that can't get on your favorite site, cause the Web is so overloaded right now - - -

And the trend continues all the way thru Christmas & New Years - buy, buy, buy - shop, shop, shop.   But not us.  For the past few years, we have made our Christmas presents.  The joy that we have found is in the friendship, camaraderie, and togetherness that can happen during this time, if you just let it.

I think it's time that we all go back to the "roots" of Christmas - the love of friends, family, and Christ.  The togetherness and happiness that can occur during this time is just beautiful, if you let it happen "naturally".  You don't need thousands of dollars in presents to make a Merry Christmas, just togetherness.

Think about it.