Black Friday Shopping!
- navakallc
- Dec 1, 2024
- 2 min read
As soon as the 5am alarm sounds on my phone, mostly because I’ve forgotten to turn off a previous alarm, there are people gathering outside stores, lining up, their wallets full and their bags empty. This mostly happens on only one Friday in the entire year. Black Friday! Right after Thanksgiving every year, after families have celebrated and spent time together, they pull up to all the nearby malls and outlets.
Being me, I love the vibe of the malls during the day, where every store is jampacked and on sale. Almost everything has a discount, which is what Black Friday is known for, and the online shopping commences as early as midnight the previous night, as to not let all the good products go out of stock. It almost feels like you’re in Disneyland, with long lines, though not for rides, but for shops. There are racks and racks of merchandise that all get sold in one day. Similar to Disneyland, the place feels magical too, as it is usually already decorated for Christmas, which is right around the corner. There are lines for everything, including and especially the fitting rooms. It takes almost an hour in each shop, which is why some people prefer online shopping better.
I didn’t buy that much this year, choosing to just window shop and browse with my friends. Though entering the mall itself is a challenge. There are so many people all at once that even the parking lot is crowded, and it takes half an hour or maybe more to find a spot to park in. Some of the families we know had to go back home because they couldn’t find a spot to park, that’s how dramatic the situation is. One of the best strategies is to reach early or go just a couple of hours before the mall closes, so that people are tired or having dinner and there are less lines to go to the stores.
I always drag my parents around and run around to my favorite stores, picking one thing after the next, ending up trying things for 15 minutes and only getting two things. The collection of the clothes is also always amazing during this time of the year, because the winter merchandise comes out, and I’m always ecstatic to pick out a Christmas sweater.
At the end of the day, our bags are full and our heart heavy as we finally leave the hustling bustling mall. It feels so odd to suddenly sit in the silence of our car after listening to all kinds of chatter, clamoring and the opening and shutting of doors all day. The malls are always the best ways to spend Black Friday, even though I end up doing most of my shopping online.