Black Friday

I've never ventured out on Black Friday to snag some good deals - until this year. Friday my mom and I went down to Davenport for the day to try and get some Christmas shopping done and we had a lot of success. It wasn't the traditional study the ads the night before, get there at 5 A.M., and go to all the "hot spots" - our only stop was the mall, and we didn't get there until about 10. But, it worked for us and our goal, which was to pick out a few things for me for Christmas.

We made up a loose game plan in the car on the way down - hit up Younkers first to see if a couple of door buster items were still available, then Express to take advantage of the 40% off before noon deal, and then any other stores that caught our eye, ending with Von Maur.

No luck at Younkers, but we hit the jackpot at Express. I tried a lot of things on and left the dressing room with several "keep" items. We had about a 45 minute wait to check out, but we passed the time by figuring how to get the best bang for our buck with the coupons I had and figuring out how much we were saving (over $250). After a few more stores and a lunch break, we ended the day at Von Maur, where I had more success (every item was off the sale rack, with the exception of a pair of boots) and managed to spend the rest of the balance on my gift card.

Although my first Black Friday experience almost felt a little selfish, since the majority of the day was spent looking at stuff for me, it was successful and a lot of fun. (For the record, I did ask my mom if she wanted to go into a few stores, and I did get one thing for Rachel) My mom was/is an awesome shopping partner - we may not always have the same taste, but she is always helpful, patient, and seems to have fun, even if she's not looking for herself.