3 Reasons Black Friday Will Ruin Thanksgiving

Trust major retailers like Walmart and Target to take the fun out of shopping.

Every morning this week, a new store announced that it will open its doors for Black Friday sales on increasingly Gray Thursday—otherwise known as Thanksgiving. The earliest opening so far is Walmart, which will begin promotions at 10pm on Thanksgiving night.

Even the most devoted sale-hunters are balking at starting their shopping ten or so hours early, and we can’t blame them. Here are three reasons why:

1. Missing Out on the Pie

Any savvy shopper knows that the first step to scoring Black Friday deals is getting in line … two hours early. Forget dessert (and forget clean-up), because the most devoted shoppers will be fighting the tryptophan and the cold in a strip-mall parking lot. Festive!

2. Guilt by the Numbers

You know who has it worse than the people waiting in line? The people working in the stores, who will have to curb their usual travel plans and spend most of their holiday at work, preparing for bitter, pie-deprived customers. Sure, an employee could refuse, but few are willing to be uncooperative when a lackluster economy means jobs are hard to come by.

3. Blending of the Days

It sounds like a good thing, but getting a head start on your shopping on Thursday night means you’ll be a store or two deep by midnight, and you were planning to get in line at the third around 4 a.m. Question: When are you supposed to sleep? Expect to spend post-shopping Friday with the blinds drawn—it really will be black.

(Still going for it? Then you’ll need some guidance, especially our Other Guide to Black Friday to keep your finances in shape. And if you’re going to pass on the shopping day, try these activities instead.)

Image Credit: flickr.com/croixboy