I\'m Summer, a mouthy, sarcastic bitch. I\'m passionate about natural birth, long term breastfeeding, and living naturally. I curse too much, love tattoos, and will some day be crushed to death by my book collection. I homeschool, dream of gardening, and swing to the left. 
Black Friday
In America, the Thanksgiving turkey is really just the warm-up meal. It’s part of the preparation, the feast before the real festival. That festival commonly known as Black Friday.
This is the festival of mass consumerism, a ritual meant to drive sales figures into the black and debt into astronomical amounts. A great rite, if you will, where we once again prove our worth as collectors of the world. Jewelry commercials are on high alert, newspaper ads are thicker than the papers themselves, and even the precious Wii has taken a limited nosedive in price to encourage shoppers to buy 2 or 3. Yes friends, it is time to shop.
photo credit: Andres Rueda
Yet, while most Americans are out at the crack of dawn, still gorged on turkey drippings, looking to spend money on every commercialized gadget available and much sought after trinket, there are a few adventurous souls staying home. Or at least staying out of the stores. Enter the Buy Nothing Day squad.
You know what they say: a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step. You feel that things are falling apart – the temperature rising, the oceans churning, the global economy heaving – why not do something? Take just one small step toward a more just and sustainable future. Make a pact with yourself: go on a consumer fast. Lock up your credit cards, put away your cash and opt out of the capitalist spectacle. You may find that it’s harder than you think, that the impulse to buy is more ingrained in you than you ever realized. But you will persist and you will transcend – perhaps reaching the kind of epiphany that can change the world.
For one day step out of the consumer lifestyle and see how it feels. Take a day to connect over conversations, rather than things. Embrace a touch of simplicity, of peace, of being happy with what you have. Maybe the feeling will stick around.
After a day-long consumer fast you may find that you enjoyed the simplicity and spirituality. In light of this experience, the garish materialism of the holiday season may suddenly feel offensive. So maybe this year, you extend the celebration of Buy Nothing Day throughout the holidays. You make a pact with your family to do things a little differently this year. Gather your loved ones and shift the focus.
But! But you have to buy gifts! It just won’t be the holidays without something to give! OK, let me introduce you to Make Something Day. Can you knit? Can you sew? Can you cut funky pictures out of old magazines and glue them together into a weird design? Well then you’re holiday gift ideas are covered!
OK, if you’re really itching to buy something and you swear you just cannot make anything I’ll make a few exceptions. Like gift cards from Global Giving, because they’re encouraging everyone to sleep in on Black Friday and their gifts actually help people. Or gift cards to Better World Books, because they help fund literacy and keep old books out of the dumps. See, I’m not totally cold-hearted! Just don’t tell anyone that or you’ll totally ruin my reputation.
I really do think it’s a great plan, buying NOTHING… and I do not participate in black friday (I did once at the pushing of a friend when my son was 2 or 3, it was miserable and I hated everything about everything that day)… BUT, my one weakness, our local GoodWill is having a huge sale that day. I must take advantage of the fabric opportunities provided in the linens & bedding section.
Jasie VanGesen´s last blog ..we’re going to party like it’s 1999… because it WAS 1999.
I’m Canada, so no Black Friday here. Our big, crazy shopping day happens the day after Christmas on Boxing Day. I steadfastly lock myself indoors and refuse to spend money on that day.
As for the Christmas shopping, I am hoping to make a lot of my gifts this year. And those that I can’t make, I’m trying to buy handmade. It’s a different ethic, and it just feels better to me. I hope that the people I gift to will appreciate it, as well.
Amber´s last blog ..The Kid Loves Books
I love it. Black Friday is evil. We should all stay home and make gifts instead. I’ll try that out this year
Jen
ICLW
Jen´s last blog ..I should really be baking right now
Ugh. I went shopping on Black Friday once. It’s an experience I hope to never repeat. My day-after-Thanksgiving tradition is to spend the day making gingerbread cookies and houses with my mother-in-law. A long day baking is much better than fighting the crowds.