It’s that time of year again! Fuzzy socks, Christmas music, Grandpa losing his dentures in the sweet potato casserole, and… getting elbowed in the ribs to grab the last cashmere sweater.
Black Friday can be a little rough. You’re up at midnight after eating your weight in turkey, stuffing, and potatoes, it’s 20 degrees out, and you’re standing in line praying that the Coach bag your sister has been coveting will still be in stock by the time you burst through the door. So before you head off into the abyss, here are some useful tips to help you survive your night.
- Make a list.
Listen. Do not kid yourself. If you think you can set off into an ocean of people 5 hours past your bedtime and remember all the things you came to get, you are very wrong.
Make your life easier and just make a list. If you’re shopping for gifts for friends and family, write their names next to the items you think you want to get for them so you can make sure everyone gets something to unwrap.
Photo source: http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/File:Crying_child.jpg
This is your cousin Timmy. Timmy is mad you forgot his gift. Timmy says he wishes you wrote a list so you hadn’t forgotten his Tonka Truck.
2. Map your moves.
Line up your stores and decide where you’re going and in what order so you aren’t weaving all over the mall like a bumble bee.
You can do this in a couple of ways.
1. By geography. If Best Buy is the farthest away, hit other stores first.
2. By the best deals. If you know the 42” TV is going to sell out fast, be in the Best Buy line first.
3. If you’re at a mall or shopping center, you can go by crowd concentration. You might think you want to go into Forever 21 first, but you might want to reconsider if you’re going to have to crawl through your entire high school senior class to get a pair of jeans.
Whatever way you decide, it’s best to plan out your evening adventure.
3. Put your credit cards back in the same place EVERY time.
How often have you been in a stressful shopping situation with a line of people snaking around the store and this has happened:
Cashier: “Here’s you receipt and your bag and your other bag and your card and your coupon that’s good on the 6th and have a nice night … NEXT!”
And you’re standing there with your 13 bags and a receipt and your credit card and your purse and your wallet and a coupon that’s good starting on the 6th while the woman behind you in line has already pushed you aside to check out.
What do you do? You shove everything in one bag.
And then you’re in the next store trying to pay and you end up ripping apart the entire contents of your purse and 13 bags on the floor of Macy’s in attempts to find your credit card.
Photo source: http://www.businessinsider.com/5-ways-to-control-your-emotional-spending-2012-8
Let’s play a game called “Which bag did I put my credit card in?”
Okay don’t do this. I don’t care if Anxious Anne is breathing down your neck to get out of the way, take the time to put your credit cards back in your wallet so you don’t accuse some innocent man that he’s stolen your life line to your bank account.
4. In the same spirit as #3, Keep your receipts all in one place.
Nothing is worse than getting home and realizing you got Grandma the wrong sized gloves only to discover the receipt is somewhere floating around in the Target parking lot.
Option 1: Put them all in your wallet or some other designated place.
Option 2: Ask every cashier to put your receipt in the corresponding bag.
Either way, you can be sure when you wake up from your delirious shopping state on the 29th that you’re receipts are safe and sound.
5. Label your receipts.
After you get home (and had a few hours of sleep) write on all your receipts. This way when you look back at your receipts, you can remember that “S_dazzle_Pnk” on your receipt actually means “Stacy’s pink sparkly hat.”
And remember to get gift receipts! :)
6. Bring healthy snacks.
Even though you might think you could not possible stuff one more bite of food in your mouth, somewhere around one and three in the morning you’re going to want a snack since you just burned off 300 calories wrestling a guy in a fedora for a caramel scented candle.
To avoid eating a Big Mac and questioning if you can button your jeans anywhere in the next week, bring a few healthier options that you won’t regret and can snack on without getting out of line for your new Keurig.
Speaking of, coffee breaks are highly suggested.
7. Most people would suggest wearing comfortable shoes, but I suggest these:
http://www.thefashionpolice.net/2010/10/serious-spikes-barbara-gonginis-spiked-pumps.html