Join me Black Friday

Join me on Black Friday, not for shopping, but enjoying coffee and breakfast. It won’t be crowded and there are no worries when it comes to parking. It will be warm and quiet except for the TV and the bacon sizzling. OK, I actually don’t want you at my place, but you can have coffee and breakfast at your own home. I’m single and I’m a guy. I won’t be joining the crowds.

The commercialization of Christmas is taking all of the fun out of the holiday and the fun stops on Black Friday. How many news reports do we have to see of people bursting through the doors at Wal-Mart for the ultimate Christmas gift that they have to have, or the holiday is a bust? People are getting trampled and some killed so they can have the newest got to have video game set. How long can you stand in line to check out before you decide that it has been too long? If that's the holiday spirit, I'd rather be called Ebenezer Scrooge.

There also seems to be a race to see who can open up the soonest. We’re opening at 4AM for your shopping convenience. No you’re not! You won't see me there. You might see my daughter and her mom, and they'll tell you just how bad it was. We had to park what seemed like a mile away, the place was packed and the people were so rude.. Did you really save that much? Were the sales that awesome? Happy Holidays!

I prefer to shop at our local stores as much as possible, and if they don't have what I want, I'll order it online and let the mailman bring it to my door. I'm very much into photography, and so are a lot of my friends. I would prefer to buy locally at Stewart's Photo then Best Buy any day. They have the product knowledge and experience. They have customer service with a real smile, not one that's forced upon you or should I say, on them. If at all possible, they will match prices or come very close, which is good enough for me. If they don't have what I want, then maybe I'll buy a gift card.

Maybe I'll go online to B&H Photo or Amazon.com on Cyber Monday. I can still sit at home, have my coffee and breakfast, be warm, watch the news and make my purchases without any stress, rude people or waste any gas while still in my pajamas. I can get all the shopping for my kids, family and friends done before I finish my toast. Sometimes shipping is a little high, but if you keep your eye open, you can get free or discounted shipping. If there’s a problem, let you credit card people dispute it for you. If you need to return something, REI, Sears and Fred Meyer’s and others might let you take it to your local store.

Cyber Monday might not be about an old fashion Christmas, but I’ll come out of it alive. Happy shopping!