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‘Tis the season to get presents! The 2023 shopping season has officially begun. The holiday season is in full swing. Everyone goes for the big-ticket items such as televisions, iPhone, and more. This year was the record in total sales with a volume of $9.8 million. For those who have been living under a rock, the term “Black Friday” comes from the accounting term, “being in the black” meaning profitable. Many retailers are open all year but do not become profitable until the day after Thanksgiving. Black Friday to New Years Eve are the days when many retailers finally make money.
The day after Thanksgiving has gone from the day to start digging out the Christmas decorations to the day to eat early on Thanksgiving, so you can get a good night’s sleep and get up before the crack of dawn for a Hunger Games/Purge type of shopping adventure. There have been many fights over the years for Tickle Me Elmos, Cabbage Patch Kids, and whatever the latest toy craze is. The retailers got smart and decided to extend the day into a complete weekend to keep the good times rolling.
TMZ has also reported that the celebrities are out having a great time. Tiffany Haddish fell asleep behind the wheel of her Tesla in Beverly Hills and now has been arrested for two DUI’s in the last two years. TI and Xscape's Tiny’s son King Harris had the nerve to be offended because his parents of all people were teasing him while in their sky box during the Atlanta Falcons game about how he grew up in a privileged life. His parents were both independently platinum selling artists before he was conceived but he wanted to argue that he was from the streets. They felt that was hilarious. As is the case with the youth today, he was offended about his success being attributed to nepotism and became very disrespectful to his parents. The video ends with him being put in a headlock by his father.
Mariah Carey’s song will be playing constantly nonstop on the radio for the next four weeks. The stores and malls will all be beyond crowded. Porch pirates will be patrolling neighborhoods for package deliveries so for those of you in the stone ages who have yet to invest in a Ring Camera door type recording device, the time is now. Suicides will be up as will home and car burglaries. Be vigilant on these streets. Keep your head on a swivel and always be aware of your surroundings. Ignore notes on cars and sad to say people with supposed broken cars need help. There are so many scams and frauds this time of year that you want to do all that you can to protect yourself from becoming a victim or a statistic. I believe everyone knows this but do not go to the mall and put your bags in the car and then go back in to continue shopping.
For those who don’t like crowds, online shopping is the best. Many people do not realize that almost everyone has a deal. bQute offered 50% off the entire site on Friday. Most small businesses offered great deals to attempt to compete with the big box stores. Give the little guy a try. The big box stores are not going anywhere. If anything, they will consolidate. Meanwhile, the mom-and-pop shops with their unique specialty items, will pack up and close and must keep all their inventory in the basement or the attic. It is a very noble thing to spread the wealth.
The good news is that many people get into great moods around this time of year. Consumerism will be at an all-time high. People will purchase gifts for spoiled non deserving kids and threaten to take everything back before the kids have lunch on Christmas Day. This happens year after year with parents constantly saying that they are not going to be sucked back in the next year but always give in to the Christmas spirit for their spoiled brats. It is the season of giving and hopefully you are a person who receives joy from giving.
Ultimately, the goal is to enjoy yourself, and your loved ones. It is not to go into debt and spend the entire new year trying to dig yourself out of debt. As a parent it is hard to raise children and teach them the importance of not attempting to keep up with the Jones’s. On the other hand, it is important for children to learn the lesson that materialistic viewpoints and the love of stuff does seldom bring about true happiness. Shop within your means. Make a budget stick to it. This is essential to not letting the holiday consume you and take over your checkbook or credit card.
Do your best to keep up goodwill and be a blessing to others. As the years pass, many people are celebrating with missing loved ones. Parents have passed, divorces happen, kids grow up and go on with their life. Many people are hurting. Spread the love. Sometimes a smile is all that is needed for a stranger to decide to live life one more day. Being kind is such an unrated cure for many ailments. Happiness has healing powers that the world will never truly know. If you do your best to spread love to make the world a better place, then sooner or later hopefully it can and will be. A compliment can go a long way to make people’s moods boost. Many people are on top of the world in December and come crashing back down to Earth in January when the credit card bills come. On the other side of the coin, many are depressed in November and December and do not live long enough to make it to see the new year. Do you and your part to make your life and your world the best that they can possibly be.