Happy Day-After-Thanksgiving, Readers! You’ve slept off the tryptophan and that second piece of pecan pie. Inquiring minds (that would be us Chicks) want to know: How will you spend this actual Black Friday? Will you be in line for that doorbuster special (if you can find one)? Shop in your jammies all day from your laptop while bingeing BritBox? Or are you feeling a tad Grinchy this ho-ho-holiday season?

Lisa Q. Mathews

My favorite part of Black Friday Past was hitting the mall(s) with my daughters and other female family members. We didn’t get a lot of gift shopping done, due to the crowds and the fact we rarely split up to accomplish individual goals. The highlight was lunch (after waiting in some serious lines), followed by…snacks. The cute little mint fudge box never made it home, and there was much pre-Covid-era sticky sharing of melted chocolate cookies. Not to mention the free hot cocoa and peppermint bark at Williams-Sonoma. And then the crazy madhouse at Victoria’s Secret, back when they had great deals and better stuff. All those messed-up stock drawers, ha, with strangers asking, Hey, do you see a 36B in this one? In the end, we brought home a couple of presents, a few “great deals” for ourselves, the required candle refresh, an ornament or two (hello, Crate and Barrel!) and tons of wrapping paper that didn’t rip as you unrolled it from the tube. We never wore the matching sweaters/sweatshirts/hats like other “teams,” but it was National Girls Day Out followed by our version of Dude, Where’s My Car? and a Christmas movie marathon. Oh, and Black Friday marked the first day we were allowed by Grinchier family members to play Christmas music. 1990s, where are you? All we have left are the Mom jeans.

---

 Ellen Byron

I love shopping, especially at the holidays when I have an excuse to do it! I think I’ll be online Friday and do Small Business Saturday in person. I’m hoping that some of the big discounts I’m being promised actually materialize. I tend to get sucked in and then discover the deal was of course for something else I’m not interested in – looking at you, Vivaia shoes! There’s a necklace at Olivia Jewelry I want to get Eliza for Christmas. It says, “Be kind” and then you pull out a charm inside of it that says “… of a badass.” I learned about these necklaces from Cindy Silberblatt at Bouchercon, who showed me hers. But Cindy’s didn’t say, “…of a badass.” It said, “… of a b-tch.” That Cindy never ceases to surprise!

---

Cynthia Kuhn

There was a time when Black Friday sales were so much fun, venturing out on Thanksgiving at midnight to do as much shopping as possible, as fast as possible. The incredible deals and doorbusters happened only in stores back then. And the excitement and holiday cheer were palpable: we were all in it together, felt like, sipping hot cocoa and organizing our coupons as we waited in long lines. Nowadays, so many retailers offer similar sales online–plus there’s Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday right afterwards–so there isn’t as much to compel that late-night adrenaline-fueled race through the aisles. (Aside from the complimentary cocoa, of course.)

---

Vickie Fee

I’m not a morning person. So, I would be much more likely to hit a midnight madness sale than an early morning sale. When my sister’s oldest kid was a toddler, I did accompany her to an early morning before Christmas sale. This wasn’t to get a super sales price, but rather to make sure we were able to secure one of those uber popular toys that were in short supply. We didn’t want to risk tears on Christmas morning. We had to go a couple of places and stand in line outside, but we did leave with the much-desired toy! After nabbing a couple of other small things we left and went to a late breakfast, or early lunch, depending on how you calculate time at that hour. This was before you could typically buy things online. This Black Friday I will be in my recliner, in warm pajamas, drinking coffee and ordering gifts on Amazon —which has become my habit. My husband is generally sweet enough to make coffee and bring it to me. This is one of the reasons we are happily married.

Leslie Karst

Not much of a shopper here–except for grocery shopping, which I adore! But I don’t think there are too many Black Friday deals on fresh veggies, French cheeses, or prime cuts of meat, alas. On Small Business Saturday, however, I’ve been invited to come hang out at our local Hilo bookstore, Basically Books, which I know will be loads of fun, since several other of my Big Island mystery author pals (Frankie Bow and Jane Hoff, to name a couple) will be there, too. And best of all, the store owner said I could gift wrap books for customers that day! I hope they have wrapping paper with skeletons and knives on it….

---

Kathleen Valenti

Last Black Friday, my kids dragged me to the biggest mall I had ever seen in Seattle. (Of course, I live in a relatively small town, so “big” is in the eye of this beholder.) It was fun, but craaaazaaaay busy, and I ended up playing shopping bag sherpa as my daughter advanced up her own personal denim Everest. This year, Black Friday seems to have become Black November, and I have already shopped till I dropped all the cash I plan to on holiday gifts. For the first time in–ever??–I’m done with my Christmas shopping. I plan to celebrate this Christmas miracle by eating leftover pie in my jammies in front of a Christmas movie. Preferably one with Hugh Grant or Jude Law.

---

Becky Clark

I never shopped on Black Friday because it kind of appalls me in a zillion different ways. And I don’t buy holiday gifts anymore anyway, preferring to give experiences throughout the year rather than an overload of things on one day. My kids and my spouse are adults who can buy whatever they need, and my daughter-in-law owns a toy store so the kids in my life have—quite literally—every toy imaginable!

But I have tickets for the older kids to see Mary Poppins on stage in January, so I’m looking forward to showing them the magic that is live theatre. I hope I instill in them the same kind of love I have for it.

As for me, we have a great little brewpub near us with a literary theme called Fiction Beer. Every year on Black Friday they tap something special for the day … their Series of Fortunate Stouts. I tell a bunch of pals when hubs and I will be there and hope people show up to hang with us. We gorge on pizza and/or something from a cool food truck. So even if everyone is busy, I know I’ll still have fun!

---

Jennifer Chow

I’ve always been scared of the mobs on Black Friday—that, and I’m lazy about waking up early. Though I’ve done the midnight run before. Enter: online shopping—hooray! Admittedly, I love a good deal. This year, I’m aiming to get shoes. Blame my Ashland trip with El, where I fell in love with a retro dress. So, naturally, I’ll need some nice retro shoes to complement it. (If you give a mouse a cookie…) On my radar for this Black Friday are also gifts for my nieces and nephews. We’ll be hosting for the holidays, so I’d love to assemble goody bags for the littles (think: elementary-aged). Should goodies be SoCal-themed or something else? Share any suggestions with me!

---

Readers, what are you up to today? Is it “Charge it please,” or “Review Cart”? Or…a lazy day on the couch with zero click-to-pays? If you’re already done with your holiday shopping for the year, tell us how you’re celebrating this accomplishment (and how you did it).