Nov. 26th was Buy Nothing Day...it was also the start of holiday shopping and from what my mum's friend was telling me some shops were opening up at 530 am! I am sorry nothing no matter the price is going to get me out of my cozy bed at 530am.

So what did you do on Buy Nothing Day...?

I bought nothing...absolutely not one penny was spent. We came home early from our thanksgiving holiday because I have a sick child..and we just spent the evening in..I made split pea soup..one of the sick child's favorite foods.

Nonetheless sick children or not I must admit I have never in my life planned shopping in accordance to special observed shopping days...in fact a big shopping day to me is a bit frightening and I avoid the shopping areas at all costs.

Do you join in the shopping celebrations or choose to blaze your own consumer trail?

If you are Russian Orthodox, you already celebrate BND- it is called Christmas and in lands on Jan 7th.

That being said, I spend a ton of money on presents for my over large family. I have (as of Dec 2nd) 14 family members in Iraq, and their families (of the national guard ones) are financially very bad off. So we pick up the slack for the men and women serving,(me and my brother and my sister and 3 cousins bought all the kids bikes- OUCH) which severely takes a chunk out of my hind end!

Then, there is the Russian side of my family, that celebrate the "American" holiday AND the New Years, which is the "real" gift giving holiday on that side of the family.

So, I am doing my patriotic duty by dropping a couple K on all this stuff LOL

Never heard of BND. But this time of year, Mall is spelled Maul. Accordingly my Christmas shopping is all online these days, mostly from Amazon.com; I figure if I don't know someone well enough to buy them books, music or movies, I don't know them well enough for them to be on my list.

We have progressively spent less and less for Xmas.
I have no religious connection to the holiday, and am trying to contain any financial connection.

I had heard of BND...and aI think it's a good idea.
But make it another day, not the same day.
In general, I shop the last week before.

Watching the BBC World News, I was a bit...ashamed to see the video of Americans fighting to get in the doors @ 5AM...more importantly, that this was the story of the day from the U.S.

I hate malls...have every since I birthed the first kiddo. Around this time of year I stay especially clear of them. It's a zoo and I can't see bringing the young ones into that melee. I shop online. They almost always have the right size, and you can ship it to the friends/relatives of your choice without standing in line at the post office. Often around this time of year the companies offer free shipping as well.

I didn't do much yesterday, but I did fuel up the family vehicle. One gas station was down, and at the next one, a few miles away, only every third pump was open (and only regular was available). I don't know what was up with that. Mr P went out and bought more Christmas stuff for the house. It looks very festive now.

Edited to add: Almost forgot! After Doomed planet's recommendation I bought the game apples to apples. Haven't played it yet, though.

Me, too. Between the day after Thanksgiving and New Year's I will probably
go nowhere near a mall, and if I do, it will be without the kids.



Awesome!! You're going to love it. It's the perfect game for pretty much
any gathering.

As far as BND day, I was busy preparing (at home) for my son's 4th
birthday, which sometimes falls directly on Thanksgiving. This year it was on
a Saturday.

Well, on BND, I did buy a few drinks with a friend. But by this time, my Christmas shopping is usually done (and this year, its almost done) because Im a freak.

i didnt know of BND but i ended up buying nothing. CNN headline news showed in a mall some person superglued the locks and they had to wait til MIDMORNING *gasp* to open the stores to shoppers.

I've never heard it referred to as "Buy Nothing Day" before, but I like the concept. Everyone I know has always called it Black Friday.

I wasn't anywhere near a mall on Friday though. I had a meeting friday morning and after that I geared up and a friend and I drove out to Napa, CA for an afternoon training ride. We covered about 40 miles before it got dark and had to head back to the car, but I really loved it because it actually looks and feels like Fall up there.

So my purchases were minimal that day - a tank of gas (which was a good 30 cents cheaper per gallon) before heading home and a burger, shake and garlic fries at Taylor's Refresher in St. Helena for dinner.

My wife and I have progressively given less "stuff" each Christmas and this year we aren't buying any "stuff" for friends and family. We'll be giving more of ourselves instead. As an example, this time around my wife got a hold of 38 year old negatives from her parent's wedding and she spent a week or so in the darkroom cleaning the negatives and printing. A lot of people pay hundreds of dollars to have that done, if a photographer or lab is even willing to take it on.

I am an anti-mall person. I hate crowds, I hate fighting for parking. I do most of my shopping online (much cooler stuff, easier on the feet and the nerves ). I'd say I have 95% of my shopping done (gotta love UPS and the USPS). But, I must admit, I did some shopping on Friday. There's a Target at the end of my street where I pick up my prescriptions, stop in for a quart of milk or whatever - it's my equivalent of a convenience store -...this time I found myself in the holiday department and went (a little) nuts buying decorations and wrapping stuff.

But there's no way in heck that I'd get up at 0:dark thirty to "be the first one in the store" (tho I have to admit, I cracked up at the idea of a wake-up call from a celebrity for Target - imagine IceT telling you to "get yo butt outta bed"! )

In defense of my shameless consumerism, it is the only time of year I have family around for a holiday (thus being the only holiday I really celebrate), my mom's and my birthday are in December, and by gosh and by darned I'm gonna enjoy it however I wanna!

After a round trip to my brother-in-laws house on Thanksgiving, including our annual jaunt across the border to Sarnia for a fish dinner at The Wharf, both PE and I had had enough driving. In fact, by the time we woke up on Friday, the sales were mostly over. I started some rye bread, which I baked on Saturday, picked up my daily newspaper, and went to four stores looking for a can of cranberry relish... When I finally found it, it was buy one get one free, so I bought out their entire inventory of two cans. Total expenditure for Friday was $2.09.

Shopping malls make me hate life - I avoid them like the plague.

I did no shopping on Friday - though I think one of the people I was staying with bought a pack of cigarettes. If I do any Christmas shopping at all (unlikely), it will be online.

This segment was on CNN - http://adbusters.org/metas/eco/bnd/wrapup/kalle.html

I too hate shopping on these days. I ESPECIALLY hate doing it in malls. Problem is, I manage them!!!!!!!

If off work on the 26th I will do EVERYTHING within my power to stay out of em, but, when you go out of town to visit relatives, the first thing you hear on the day after Thanksgiving is "LETS GO TO THE MALL!!!!!!".

Big thrill for someone who spends 10 to 12 hours a day in one!

How did I spend BND?

I STAYED HOME!

BND is one of my FAVORITES!!!!!!!!!

Red

I'd never heard of a BND either, but I've never gone out shopping the day after Thanksgiving shopping anyway. I don't care for those crowds or having to park a mile and a half away. Besides, the CU-Nebraska game is usually played on that day.

However, "back in the good ole days" I used to love to go out Christmas shopping. Those were the days when the malls played Christmas music, had all kinds of decorations, Santa Claus for the kids (with sexy elves for the dads).

Those were the days when I was single and living a long ways from home. Didn't have much to buy since I didn't know anyone very well, but I just went out to the malls every night and watched the people - most especially the kids. I loved that gleam in their eyes, the excitement in their faces and that magical glow in their heart that was Christmas. It took me back to my own childhood and re-kindled some very good memories. I didn't have anyone then to share them with, so I went to the mall and shared in everyone else's memories as they were created. Good times, I do love the Christmas season.

So now, I have a family here and we do most of our shopping online, but somewhere along the line I'll figure out a way to get to the local mall and hang out for awhile. I can't seem to let those old memories go and that's probably because I really don't want to.