Friday, November 26, 2010

Black Friday!


Black Friday is one of my absolute favorite days of the year. It's always my goal to spend as close to nothing as I can while still returning with a small load of goodies. Thus, I scope out the freebies and giveaways.

This year, I managed to spend absolutely nothing. With Andrew staying behind to watch Oliver, my friend Aminta and I met at 4am and drove to JC Penney. We collect the miniature snow globes they give out every Black Friday. Some years (if they give out good coupons), we return to make purchases, but this year, we grabbed our free snow globe, send thanks, and left without returning.

From there, we drove to Sports Authority. I have fun there on Black Friday. For my budget, they're a little pricey, but they give out free gift cards to their first few customers, and that makes some of their stuff more affordable. Last year, I got a running shirt that cost me about $5 after my free gift card. This year, we pulled up at 4:30am. There were other cars in the parking lot, but no one was out in line yet. I decided to be the first sucker and got out and stood at the door. First in line! Aminta and our friend, Phuong, joined us shortly after. With the $10 gift card I received, I found a bat and ball set for $9.99. It looked perfect for Oliver! I decided to get that with my gift card. Amazingly, the discount was taken off before the tax was added, so I didn't have to pay a penny! Additionally, after checking out, they gave me an additional $10 gift card that's valid for a few weeks starting Monday. Hurray!

After Sports Authority, we went to World Market. I love all the treats at World Market, but I try hard not to buy anything on Black Friday (remember--FREE is the key!). It was a very pleasant wait in line! The employees came buy with samples of coffee (so good!) and pastries (I liked the fig bar). Then, they came around with individual shopping baskets for our convienence, and in each basket was our free ornament and scratch card (for a chance to win a discount, freebie, or big prize). The highlight was when one of the employees checked to see if Phuong was 18. She's 27. Hahahaha. I won $5 off of $20, which I didn't use, and so did Aminta, which she did use. Phuong won a free bag of truffles! Score.

So, at 7:30am, I was up a bat & ball set, a snow globe, an ornament AND a gift card--not to mention my belly full of coffee and treats!

Tomorrow, our adventures continue. World Market is giving away another ornament with a chance to win a prize, and The Great Indoors is giving away gift cards to the first 100 customers. I can't wait!

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