Frugal Friday has been Pre-empted by Black Friday

I had planned a post for today but then I realized it was Black Friday.  Yes, Virginia, Black Friday has made its insidious way north to Canada.  Nothing could make me go out today so I will pick up next Friday with my frugal tips.  Shopping the big sales does seem like a frugal thing to do but in those environments, I wonder how many people get carried away with the thrill of the hunt and spend more than they planned anyway.

Funny thing for a shopaholic girl like me to say but I can't stand crowds and there is something I find so repellent about crowds of people; lining up for hours, pushing people against glass doors and fighting like dogs in the street over a bone.  (I apologise now if you are one of those Black Friday revelers. Normally I'm the first to agree to a shopping trip.)

Finally got the tree up and lit after it fell over 3 times today!

NBC reports "some violence marred the Black Friday kickoff:

• A Las Vegas shopper was shot late on Thanksgiving Day as he was attempting to take his newly bought television home, police told NBC News.
• In the Chicago area, a police officer shot the driver of a car that was dragging another officer who was responding to a call of alleged shoplifting at a Kohls. Three people were arrested, police said.
• At least three people got into a brawl in the parking lot of a Wal-Mart in Rialto, Calif., because shoppers allegedly were cutting the line. Two were taken into custody, according to police.
• At another Wal-Mart in West Virginia, a man was slashed to the bone with a knife after threatening another man with a gun. The altercation was over a parking spot, police said.
• A Wal-Mart in White Plains, N.Y., received two calls about a bomb on its premises, police said, prompting a storewide evacuation. No explosive device was found and the store reopened a couple of hours later. 
• A woman apparently used a stun gun on another after an all-out brawl inside of the Franklin Mills Mall in Northeast Philadelphia, according to NBC10. Mall security, however, told the station no taser was used.  
• And in New Jersey, a shopper was charged with aggravated assault after getting into an argument over a television set with a Wal-Mart manager."

Wow, just, wow.  Things were a lot quieter in Canada but it's still not my scene.

Besides, I'm making almost all of my Christmas gifts and they might be ready for Christmas or some people may get IOUs.  It's the thought that counts, right?  Well, not really...

I was reading an article in Flare magazine today that confirmed what I always knew in my heart.  Gift-giving is a selfish act.  That's right, you heard me and they have studies and statistics to back it up.  Whether you buy a gift or make a gift and whether or not it is exactly what the "giftee" wants, it doesn't matter.  You still feel joy.  You still feel the connection that comes from giving.  

What is it with cats and boxes?

I've always felt that giving was good for your soul.  Making something for another person or buying something that I think they would really like, gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling.  It's my quiet declaration of love; that this person means something in my life and I want to express that feeling. I don't ever give with the expectation of getting anything back.  Getting something doesn't give me the feeling of bliss I get from giving.  For me, giving something I've made is so much more meaningful.  I've spent my time, that precious commodity, and thought about the person while I was working.  It really is better to give than to receive.

Julie