Christmas shopping season kicks off this week. Apparently, so stores aren't satisfied with opening in the pre-dawn hours of Friday and are actually opening on Thanksgiving Day with their "Black Friday" deals.

I generally don't do much Black Friday shopping. Most of my presents are bought already. Also, apart from the handful of "doorbusters" (available only in limited quantity to people willing to give up Thanksgiving dinner to stand in the cold), the prices aren't necessarily that much better than the ones you'll get in the weeks closer to Christmas. So go shopping on Friday only if there is something specific on sale that you want to buy. Do go "just to see." That's how you end up with a room full of stuff you don't need and too much debt. 

And really, can't it wait until Friday?  We prepare for a holiday. Then we celebrate the holiday. THEN we move on to the next one.  Really, there will still be things in the stores — even if you wait until December 15th.

I plan to make one stop on Friday morning and then head home for a leisurely breakfast, some crafting, and a combination of movies and football, topped off with homemade turkey noodle soup. So much nicer than the scrum at the mall.