Thanksgiving and shopping

I was told recently that if you aren't ready to pull your hair out, you aren't doing the holidays properly. I am pretty sure I agree. Most moms spend the day cooking, cleaning, entertaining, and everybody else sits back and relaxes. Don't you agree?

I woke up fairly early on Thanksgiving (early for me anyways, I had baked the day before so my portion of dinner was done) and set out to go shopping. I believe I've mentioned before that I don't drive. So I walked a mile to the store to go shopping. I may have mentioned before that I wouldn't shop Kmart again after my last fiasco with them. Well, I lied. I walked there in 26 degree weather to go shopping at 8am on Thanksgiving morning. I walked out about 45 minutes later with close to 30 pounds of stuff, ready to walk back home. So by 9:30am, my arms and shoulders hurt, great start to the day.

Friday I woke up to a phone call from my mother-in-law, asking if I wanted to go shopping. I don't turn down deals, so I went. The longest line I stood in was about half an hour for children's clothing. That honestly wasn't bad for Black Friday. I've decided people lie about Black Friday to keep other people from joining in the fun. My arms and shoulders were still sore throughout the day, and weren't helped by the bags I was lugging around. About this time I decided they need to have people to carry your bags for you from store to store.

This morning (Saturday) I was again woken up by a phone call about shopping. This time it was my mother, hoping I could give insight on what to get my son, nieces, and nephew. I ended up getting stocking stuffers today, which was a good thing to do. So when I got home, I found the stockings and stuffed them with the things I bought, realizing that my son's stocking was overfilled, my husband's was half-filled, and mine was empty.

How is Christmas (or other holidays based on what you celebrate) shopping going for you? Let me know your favorite Black Friday deal or story, if you ventured out.