It is finally that time of year again. Juicy turkey in the oven; savory mashed potatoes on the table; sweet pumpkin pie for dessert. Not only is Thanksgiving a holiday that stuffs people’s stomachs with delicious food, but it also brings families together. However, the day after Thanksgiving has become almost as equally important for people to celebrate: Black Friday.

On this day, it is total chaos; people are running wild in malls, competing for the last new gadget on sale, and burning through their bank accounts all to start early on their Christmas shopping and to save some money.

Though the various sales may seem appealing, some people pay more attention to their shopping on that Friday than they do to the actual day Americans are supposed to give thanks. In fact, many large supermarkets and clothing stores start opening their doors on Thanksgiving night around 5pm. Consequently, consumers feel they need to cut their dinner short and start shopping right away. Indeed, numerous shoppers camp out in front of major stores like Best Buy for days leading up to this day of excessive spending just to be first in line to receive the deals. It has become a nationwide phenomenon. Some stores, like Kmart, stay open for forty-two hours over the course of the two days, not even closing for part of Thanksgiving day.

To some people, Black Friday is a thrilling experience that comes once a year just to get people in the holiday spirit and save on their purchases; others claim that it detracts from the conventional charm of Thanksgiving and reaffirms the notion that society is materialistic and selfish. Still, there are people who know how to balance the joy of the holiday with the rush of every avid shopper’s favorite day. Although many stores open their doors on Thanksgiving evening, those people who are devoted to spending time with family on this day will wait until the middle of the night or the next morning to go shopping. That way, they can fully appreciate the time with family and the meaning of the holiday. Indeed, going shopping the next day is completely harmless since no one really engages in that much activity the day after Thanksgiving – everyone is usually too exhausted and stuffed with food to go out.

Each year, more and more people are found leaving their Thanksgiving dinners early to beat the crowds at the mall. Taylor Provenzano (12) claimed, “I think that excessive Black Friday trends do take away from family time. I find Black Friday shopping very interesting, so I do plan on going, but I will not go until after my Thanksgiving dinner with family.”

Inevitably, Black Friday will continue to grow as a holiday for shoppers. More and more stores will start opening their doors on Thanksgiving, taking away from the family time and spirit of the day. However, if people allocate their Friday to shopping and their Thursday to family, they will be able to have the best of both worlds, spending time with family and enjoying the holiday as well as checking a few items off of Christmas lists.