Black Friday Temptations

Now that eating ourselves silly at the Thanksgiving table is over, it’s on to the Jolly Old Elf season. At last. Everyone else has been at least one, or maybe two, holidays ahead of me. And, you may have noticed, I complain at least once a year about that. Nevertheless, we’re on to Christmas, the gifting season. And I love gift giving. I love it so much, as I’ve reported before, I begin my Christmas shopping on Dec. 26 every year. The deals are incredible. The only problem is my dear family members rarely get what they want. Hey, if it’s not on sale, it does not get bought and parked in my spare bedroom for, at most, 364 days until the next Christmas. The only problem with that, of course, is I forget what’s in there. I’ll confess that on one Christmas a granddaughter got something she was supposed to have received for her birthday months earlier. I remembered that gift when she looked at me quizzically and asked, “What teddy bear?” when I asked her how she liked her new teddy bear. Had to tell her on Christmas day it was THAT teddy bear. And you know what? This fall I found another teddy bear in there. Oops.

Never mind. I am affectionately known as G-G (for great-granny) by four new little kiddies this year. It’s a name I proudly wear, and all those who call me G-G, get great goodies. It’s three-Gs from the 2-G. I am now the proud G-G of four new little ones. All my grandkids have dutifully delivered to us one child each. Yep, three girls and one boy. I am happy. And my role as G-G is to make them happy. And here comes Christmas. (Just made a mental note to check out the spare bedroom before any new purchases.) And right on the heels of Thanksgiving is the dreaded Black Friday! Followed closely for Cyber Monday! Oh no! But I love shopping! Shopping is my hobby! And Clearance Sale is the name of my game. Black Friday is already tempting me beyond sensibility. My gift shopping is done. I have bragged about that, not only here but to my friends and relatives who have not even begun that happy, to me at least, chore yet. (Insert image of me pointing finger at best bud Delanna N. I also love to gloat.) But wait! There are tiny little people out there who are related to me, and need many, many toys. Truthfully, on a recent visit to granddaughter’s house, I could not walk across the living room without setting foot upon a toy. “He’s got everything,” granddaughter moaned. But can I help it if this 18-month-old has a huge, extended family, all of whom dote on him? Nope. So I must shop on!

And this year, all the stores have started Black Friday early. EEK! I have always disdained Black Friday. I do not like the crowds. I do not like another grandma tackling me cause I got the last Woody, from the movie “Toy Story,” on the shelf. Literally. It happened at a K-Mart. Please folks, Go to www.disneystore.com. And if you look closely, some of those great prices can be had at other times of the year. But it’s oh so tempting. I argue with myself. ‘NO. NO. NO.” I recite. Doesn’t work. And ‘Great-grandkid already has enough toys,’ I argue with me. ‘No he doesn’t. NO. NO. NO.’

And it’s not just for the grandkids. Yes, I really want that super mixer on sale for a smidgen of what it costs normally. ‘And,’ I ask myself, ‘What’s to be done with the other two mixers you already own, one of which has never been out of the package?’ ‘Uh yeah,’ I answer myself. ‘But it’s on sale!’ ‘On what piece of kitchen counter space do you plan to park it? There’s none left!’ OK. OK. And I deleted the super mixer off that store’s website shopping bag. My heart is broken.

No it’s not. This particular early Black Friday sale, which is on the internet meaning I don’t have to deal with crowds, is going on through Monday. Ooh. Cyber Monday. I may revisit. And besides that, this particular store has the one and only particular toy my great-grandson needs. And it’s half price. And I make the promise to my four wee ones, “I’ll be back. For I am Super G-G!”

“Now, let’s shop,” I cry as I fly off into the sky, able to fly with my invisible Great-Grandma cape.