We got out of bed at a very respectable 8:30 am and headed out to the Mattel store to buy this rocker/bouncer seat for the baby that we like. Unfortunately, the coupon we had and the in-store sales did not apply to the seat. The checkout line went all the way around the outer walls of the store and almost back to the entrance. We decided we'd just come back another day to get the seat.
Next we went to Target, where we bought Blake some shoes and me a maternity coat on clearance. Our trip out to Disneyland Wednesday night convinced us that a coat for me would probably be a good investment, and this one was 50% off. We picked up a few "doorbuster" DVDs at $1.99 and $3.99 respectively. A quick romp through the health and beauty section for some essentials and we were on our way. Thus far, we may have qualified for some award as the most practical and relaxed Black Friday shoppers ever.
Next was lunch, then a thrift store to look for ugly Christmas sweaters for a party. We didn't find what we wanted so we went to a craft store to buy some embellishments to make some normal sweaters into Christmas sweaters. Our jingle bells and sparkly foliage might not have come to much dollar-wise, but we saved over 40% on our total purchase. Not too shabby.
The last stop of the afternoon was BabiesRUs, where we got some little clothes for baby on clearance. The deal was an additional 50% off items on the clearance rack. We didn't spend over $5 on any one item and got some for as little as $.50. The real reason I started this post in the first place was that I wanted to share a treasure we found in the clearance rack. I couldn't find a picture of the exact one we saw, but it was basically one of these:
in 18 and 24 month sizes. How did THAT one slip through design, marketing, and manufacturing meetings unnoticed? There was no one in those meetings who spoke up and said, "You know, I'm not sure that we'll sell many 'My 1st Thanksgiving' outfits in larger sizes. We might end up taking a loss on those"? We just might have found the limit to the excessive holiday crap, 'if we sell it they will buy it' mentality.
We finished off our Black Friday extravaganza with the traditional holiday decorating and trimming of the tree. It was a pretty big job, but we got it done in a jiffy.
Ah, so festive! Thanks to my mom and Grandma Bonnie for supplying the bulk of the decorations. We traded out the old ornaments for those silver ones we found in the $1 bin at Target this year.
Despite the potential for some serious craziness, I think our Black Friday was a smashing success. On the agenda for today? Homework. :( and then dinner out to celebrate Small Business Saturday! :)
Happy Holiday Season, everyone!
Note: I had the hardest time typing "Black" so many times in this post. My fingers kept trying to type "Blake." I must use that a lot more than black. Although, Blake Friday doesn't sound like such a bad idea. I mean, I'd celebrate it every year, even every week. Who's with me?
