Nope, it’s not too soon. Even before all the green bean casserole is boxed up in Tupperware and the leftover turkey is recycled into tetrazzini, it’s already time to start thinking about Christmas. And that means gifts. Some people have a head start — like those who deck the halls in October or have a gift drawer with stuff they collect throughout the year to distribute Christmas morning. But even for those of us who are prone to foot-dragging where Christmas is concerned, by the time Thanksgiving rolls around, it’s officially the holidays. Black Friday kicks off the gifting season. So you better be ready.
Black Friday — when you’ll make a list and check it twice, thinking less about usefulness and more about price. But you can have it both ways. Lucky for you, there are plenty of great gifts out there for every person gathering round your tree this year — and for every buyer’s budget.
We’re going to help you stuff your stockings in style. We’ve got tips on navigating Black Friday craziness, as well as a gift guide with gift suggestions from Chattanooga stores, so you can wrap up something local this year. And to get you in the holiday spirit, we’ve even got a list of Christmas events and activities around town that every elf will love. Fa la la la la.
Black Goes Way Back: The History of Black Friday
Although post-Thanksgiving shopping was already a thing as far back as the end of the 19th century, when retailers would sponsor Thanksgiving parades and then open their stores right afterwards to kick off the holiday shopping season, the term “Black Friday” as we know it today came about much later.
Philadelphia cops coined this phrase in the 1950s, to put a name to the day-after-Thanksgiving pandemonium they had to deal with when an influx of frenzied fans converged on the city to witness rival football teams Army and Navy battle it out on the field the following Saturday. The police saw that post-turkey Friday as dismal and tumultuous, and therefore deemed it black.
But in the 1980s, retailers, who had been grateful for the excess of potential shoppers in town driving sales up, decided to recreate Black Friday and give it a much happier spin. Thanks to them, “black” is now meant to describe retail profit margins, as in being “in the black.”
(Sources: History.com and Walden University)
Talking Shop
The National Retail Federation (NRF) estimates that holiday shoppers will spend somewhere around $989 billion this year, in November and December alone — an increase of approximately 3% over last year. That equates to a heck of a lot of Ninja ice cream makers, Lululemon leggings, bluetooth speakers, Airpods and air fryers under the tree this Christmas. To help carry that extra retail load, the NRF predicts that stores will hire between 400,000 and 500,000 additional workers.
A survey by Drive Research found that 20% of people surveyed plan to spend at least $1,000 on their holiday gifts this year. A full 34% intend to start shopping on Thanksgiving Day, with another 30% planning to get going first thing — between 5 a.m. and 10 a.m. — on Black Friday. In addition, nearly a third of people said they weren’t fazed by having to wait between one and two hours just to get into a store.
Black Friday is a busy day in Chattanooga as well. Andrew Steele, the marketing coordinator for CBL Properties, which owns Hamilton Place mall, says that they’re expecting nearly 250,000 shoppers at the mall over Black Friday weekend. They have events planned for that day to reward shoppers. “Black Friday has been busy at the mall the past few years, and we expect no different this year,” Steele says. “It is one of my favorite shopping experiences of the year because we have so many groups of friends and families who wear matching shirts and have the best time shopping together.”
Staff photo by Abby White / Store manager Brittany Flesner speaks on the phone in Buckle in Hamilton Place mall.Brittany Flesner, manager of the Buckle store in Hamilton Place, also spoke up in defense of Black Friday. While things might seem unpleasantly chaotic from a shopper’s point of view, Flesner insists that from the retailers’ perspective, it’s just an all-around good day. “Black Friday is something that’s super exciting for us. It’s just consistently busy and fun all day,” she says. “We look forward to it and prepare for it all year long.”
Preparing does include hiring some extra seasonal help, and it also involves doing a little something special for the staff. For instance, to help workers avoid the inevitably long lines in the food court that day, Flesner says they usually do an employee potluck lunch on Black Friday. “I think everybody in this industry tries to make that day fun,” she says. “You’ll see people who wear their pajamas to work, or just something to keep it fun and light.”
Flesner also highlights the fact that the holiday shopping season is bookended by the early birds, who are out there grabbing gifts right out of the gate on Black Friday, versus the other end of the shopping spectrum: the procrastinators who wait until the last minute to buy all their presents. Not surprisingly, the Friday after Thanksgiving is one of the busiest shopping times at the mall — but so is the week leading up to Christmas, according to Flesner. “I feel like the majority of people who are shopping on Christmas Eve are guys coming in to buy gift cards,” she says. “They’re like, ‘Oh my gosh. Christmas is tomorrow. I need something!'”
Read on for some pointers on how to make your Black Friday go smoothly, along with some gifting ideas to help you find that perfect something for all your giftees and avoid that last-minute gift card scramble.
Black on Track: How to do Black Friday Right
Wheels and Deals
For a good day of shopping, you’ve got to have the right car. Leave the Honda hatchback at home and bring out the Ford Expedition or the Chevy Suburban. You’re going to need lots of space for all your mounds of amazing deals. Nothing’s worse than missing out on a half-price flatscreen TV because it won’t fit in the trunk. Someone on your list surely wants a treadmill or a recliner — good things come in big packages. Save the tiny Porsche for when you go jewelry shopping. This is a job for a Subaru.
Feed Your Shopping Addiction
You’re in for a long and exhausting day of hardcore bargain hunting. Stay hydrated and bring an assortment of snacks you can eat on the go without having to slow down. High-energy things like granola bars and Gu packets pack the most punch in the shortest time. If a runner would eat it at mile 12, it’s good enough for you. This is your marathon. Fuel up.
Divide and Conquer
It’s great to bond over bargains, and sure, shopping is more fun with friends and family. But Black Friday just isn’t the time for holiday togetherness. Split up. It’s way more efficient that way. While Sherry shops for shoes and Hunter hunts for hunting gear, you can knock out every last one of your stocking stuffer purchases at Five Below, and no one loses any time. Black Friday deals wait for no one.
You’ll have plenty of quality time later, when you regroup at the Chinese buffet in the food court.
For added gift-buying prowess, leave your device-addicted kids at home with their iPads, so they can snag additional markdowns online while you hit the shops. They’ll have more fun that way anyway.
Staff photo by Abby White / Megan Garappolo shops the sales rack.Peace. Love. Black Friday.
Black Friday is notorious for its violence and aggression — people shoving for a Stanley or elbowing over Elmo, leaving behind a trail of bruised and sore shoppers (24% of people surveyed say they’ve been pushed or shoved by fellow deal-seekers). Just don’t do it. Pretend you’re in California and channel your inner pacifist. WWGD: What would Ghandi do? Getting into a fight spits in the face of the holiday spirit — even the reindeer learned how to get along with Rudolph. So sing Kumbaya. Bring joy to the world. Hug a TJ Maxx worker.
There’s plenty of sale items to go around, and even if there’s not, no iPad is worth an assault record.
Good Things Come to Those Who Don’t Wait
Black Friday is not for the weak of heart nor the indecisive of mind. Anyone who’s the type to peruse and ponder on this holy day of shopping is going to have as much success as a blind field goal kicker in overtime.
There’s no time to hem and haw over purchases today. Buy the first thing that tempts you. What might be considered impulse buying under other circumstances is really just smart strategy here. Competition is fierce, so grab it now, or someone else will. If your plan is to think about it and come back later to buy, you’re going to end up empty-handed or, worse yet, paying full price.