Top 10 Things to Do After Thanksgiving Besides Shopping: Guest Krista Phillips

I'm excited to be hosting special guests for the next several Wednesdays! Please join me in welcoming Krista Phillips!

TOP TEN things to do the day after Thanksgiving BESIDES shopping...

Want some ideas for things to do on Black Friday... that DON'T involve braving the crowds and shopping? Because you KNOW that's not what you want to be doing....

10.) Eat. More. Turkey. Sandwiches.

9.) Read a good book.. or two... or three. (One about, uh, sandwiches, would be a GREAT option!)

8.) Go golfing. Mini-golf is fine. Even golfing on the WII. Or I'm sure they make some golf app for your phone.

7.) Sleep. Turkey does have that effect on people.

6.) Go to the gym. WORK off those calories you just ate! It'll probably take you ALL DAY LONG, but you can do it.

5.) Put up Christmas decorations. Spend hours on a ladder only to find that one bad bulb made your whole string of lights not work. Spend a few more hours trying to find which bulb is bad. This is fun. I promise.

4.) Board games. Lots and lots and lots of board games.

3.) Go to work. I know you'll be the only one there, but think of how much stuff you can get caught up on with no one there bother you.

2.) Go visit Grandma. I know you just visited her yesterday, but hey. She loves seeing her grandkids. Why not two days in a row?

And the number one thing to do the day after Thanksgiving besides shopping is......

Go take coffee (or Hot chocolate…) to your friends who are standing in line to get that deal that really isn't all that great.

Just whatever you do... DON'T GO SHOPPING.

(and, I, uh, definitely don't say this to help make the lines shorter and encourage more people not to shop so I can shop with better ease... nope... not at ALL...*ahem*)

So... what is YOUR after Thanksgiving tradition? Do you have one?

Me? Well, I think you already know. You'll find me shopping! (I'm not a fan of the whole Thanksgiving day thing though... but 4am on Black Friday? I'm THERE! It's a tradition!!)

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About Krista ~

Krista Phillips is the author of Sandwich, with a Side of Romance and A Side of Faith. She enjoys life with her husband and their four beautiful daughters in Tennessee. She is an advocate for congenital heart defect and organ donation awareness and blogs at www.kristaphillips.com.

Connect with Krista on Facebook and Twitter.

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A Side of Faith

He is everything she never wanted...

Rachel Carter is on top of the world. A new job in a new town, friends, and a house to call her own. Men? Eh, someday. And when the time comes, she’ll go for a nice safe geek or something. She will NOT be repeating the mistakes of her youth. 

But then Cameron Foster comes knocking on her door, reminding her of the man she vows never to think of again.

God wouldn’t send her a man who reminds her of everything she is trying to put behind her...would He?

Interested in purchasing A Side of Faith? The following sites are linked! 

Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo

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Thank you so much for being my guest today, Krista! I'm definitely planning on reading and getting hot chocolate!

It's giveaway time!! Leave your email address in the comments of this post for your chance to win a copy of BOTH Krista's books, Sandwich with a Side of Romance and her novella, A Side of Faith.

 Contest is open to U.S. residents 18 and older. Winner will be randomly selected from the comments on Saturday, November 15 and  notified via email the following week.

Back to Krista's question:

So... what is YOUR after Thanksgiving tradition? Do you have one?

Have a terrific day!!

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The Truth About Black Friday

by Jill Kemerer, @jillkemerer

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Since you're reading this, I'm assuming you either skipped shopping on Black Friday or survived it. I did not go shopping this year because...well...the truth?  It's scary!


On Black Friday, shoppers all over America set their alarms for 3 AM, throw on a pair of sweat pants, and, if they live in northern states, they wrap up in fifteen layers of scarves and coats before trekking to the mall, Target, Walmart, Kohls, and every other store brave enough to open its doors in the wee hours of the morning following Thanksgiving.

I've participated in this crazy tradition a time or two. It wasn't pretty.

First, you have to get in line with hordes of zealous shoppers, all pumped to grab every item on their lists. You're typically waiting for hours outside, and the line-keeping is based on the honor system. This means at least 50 people will "cut" in line by mysteriously seeing someone they know.

Let's face it, your odds of getting that TV on sale go down with each extra person joining the line ahead of you.

As if that weren't enough, it's technically still night out, it's cold, and the store will not open a minute before the appointed time. Someone behind you will be snapping an extra large wad of gum in your ear. The people ahead of you will start fake-wrestling. At least one flailing arm will catch you in the back of your head, and the wrestlers will bump the rest of your body numerous times.

Steam will start to pour from your ears as you mentally count how many people have technically cut in front of you by joining groups already in line.

If you're not the best shopper on a good day, well, it's about to get worse. Once the store does open the doors, you're jostled and shoved into the store like a blocked ketchup bottle that suddenly gets popped. There will be no rhyme or reason where the main items in the ad are placed in the store. Electronics will not be in the Electronics department. You'll practically need a map just to find a single item on your list!

The hot toy on sale? They'll have 3 of the one you want and 174 in the wrong color. It won't matter--they'll all be gone by the time you find the display.

At one point, you'll stop and just stare, circling in wonder at the sights you're seeing. Grown men laden with arms full of children's pajamas. (I don't know any men who buy children's pajamas on a normal day--why are they so pumped about cornering the market on Black Friday?) Women slinging four or five game systems on their shoulders. Carts crashing into each other on the way to the camera aisle.

And then the worst...you've grabbed everything you could find on your list, which sadly might only be one item, and you head to the check-out lanes.

Prepare yourself. It will be a doozy. These lines will weave in and out of aisles ALL the way to the BACK of the store. Hope you had a large coffee earlier, because you are going to need every drop of the caffeine just to stay awake long enough to pay for your stuff. Oh, and the gum snapper you thought you'd shaken? A new one will be standing in line right ahead of you. A screaming two-year-old will be behind you.

If you can't tell, I don't like Black Friday. In fact, I might need therapy after my experiences! All I know is this year I slept in, lounged in my pj's, and sipped coffee.

For all you Black Friday shoppers--I salute you! Hope you got what you wanted and the lines were short!

Did you go shopping on Black Friday this year?

Have a happy Monday!

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Happy Black Friday!

If you live in the United States, you're either working, relaxing, hunting, or shopping. Black Friday is a tradition for many folks. People set their alarms for 2:30am and rush to their top-choice store to wait in line for their must-have items. Shoppers are willing to wait in lengthy check-out lines for a good deal, and I don't blame them.

I'm not a great shopper. I think I'll be home in my pajamas instead.

For all you shoppers--best wishes and happy shopping! For everyone else--have a relaxing day!

Happy Black Friday!

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