Black Friday shopping

So this is something I always avoid -- shopping on Black Friday.  Today it seemed particularly hyped by the media, but I am about to take two trips to the East coast and needed a nice winter coat, so I decided to brave the crowds.  


I remember one year I actually went to the mall on this Friday and literally could not find a parking space.  This year, not so much.  I arrived around 9:00 am (no, I did not go out for the first store openings at 4:00 am!).  No problem parking, no huge crowds.  The mall was busy, but manageable.


Prices definitely were low.  I found some very nice shirts at very low prices.  My search for a coat took a bit longer, but I ended up with a nice Joseph Abboud wool coat for quite a discount.  And I managed to snag a few DVDs for Christmas presents, just $3.99 each at Target.  (I do think the end of the DVD era is coming very soon.)


Everyone talks about electronics being the big sale item for Black Friday.  I went to a couple of different electronics stores and didn't see much.  These days, electronics are so heavily discounted on a regular basis that the discounts I did see just didn't seem very enticing.


So I considered my trip a success.  I followed it up with my (now) daily visit to the gym, and I didn't feel so bad when I sat down to some delicious turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce leftovers later in the day.