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Don’t shop on Thanksgiving Day. There I’ve said it.
Whatever is on sale you don’t need it – not more than you need to be with your family on the holiday.
Is whatever you’re thinking of buying really more important than time with your husband and kids?
Is it more important that you be allowed to shop than for the workers time with their families?
I don’t think so.
And, hopefully, you feel the same way and you’ve pledged not to shop on Thanksgiving Day.
Stores across the country have geared up in a big way this year and are closing their doors and giving their employees the time to be with family and friends.
We here at A Mess Free Life are truly grateful for all the stores that will be closed. Here is a list of stores that have confirmed they will be closed this Thanksgiving:
- A.C. Moore
- Abt Electronics
- Academy Sports + Outdoors
- At Home
- BJ’s Wholesale Club
- Blain’s Farm and Fleet
- Burlington
- Cabela’s
- Cost Plus World Market
- Costco
- Craft Warehouse
- Crate and Barrel
- DSW – Designer Shoe Warehouse
- Ethan Allen
- Gardner-White Furniture
- Guitar Center
- H&M
- Half Price Books
- Harbor Freight
- Hobby Lobby
- Home Depot
- HomeGoods
- Homesense
- IKEA
- JOANN Fabric and Craft Stores
- Jos. A. Bank
- La-Z-Boy (all corporately owned stores)
- Lowe’s
- Marshalls
- Mattress Firm
- Micro Center
- Music & Arts
- Neiman Marcus
- Office Depot and OfficeMax
- Outdoor Research (closed Black Friday too)
- P.C. Richard & Son
- Party City
- Patagonia
- Petco
- PetSmart
- Pier 1 Imports
- Publix
- Raymour & Flanigan Furniture
- Sam’s Club
- Sierra Trading Post
- Sportsman’s Warehouse
- Sprint (Corporate & Dealer Owned Stores; Mall Kiosks May Open)
- Staples
- Sur La Table
- The Container Store
- The Original Mattress Factory
- TJ Maxx
- Tractor Supply
- Trollbeads
- Von Maur
- West Marine
If you’re having a hard time imagining yourself at home, while others are out shopping, then here are some suggestions for creating more joyful memories in your home this Thanksgiving.
DON’T SHOP ON THANKSGIVING DAY- 25 JOYFUL THINGS TO DO INSTEAD
- Work at a soup kitchen
- Bring blankets, coats, hats, and mittens to the homeless
- Visit the elderly in a nursing home
- Visit sick children at a local hospital
- Volunteer at the animal shelter feeding the animals and walking the dogs
- Drop off goodies to your local fire and police station
- Do the same for your city’s EMT’s
- Help your mom cook the holiday meal
- Eat too much turkey so you’re too stuffed to leave the house
- Play board games
- Watch football and then watch some more
- Watch old movies
- Dig out the Christmas Decorations
- Play tag football
- Decorate the outside of the house for Christmas
- Play cards
- Get in your PJ’s early and sip cocoa watching your favorite shows
- Watch your families favorite movies
- Go for a walk or hike
- Get crafty and make something to give this holiday
- Start your Christmas Cards
- Call family and friends who live far away
- Do karaoke
- Go see Christmas lights
- Go to bed early — the stores will be there in the morning
Matt Walsh wrote an epic piece in a post entitled If You Shop On Thanksgiving, You Are Part of The Problem in which he eloquently points out all the reasons why not only is it NOT necessary to shop on Thanksgiving Day, but it’s not NEEDED either.
“How appropriate, then, that a holiday created by our ancestors as an occasion to give thanks for what they had, now morphs into a frenzied consumerist ritual where we descend upon shopping malls to accumulate more things we don’t need. Our great grandparents enjoyed a meal and praised the Lord for the food on the table and the friends and family gathered around it. We, having slightly altered the tradition, instead elect to bum-rush elderly women and trample over children to get our hands on cheap TVs.”
Isn’t it about time we stopped this ridiculous frenzy of stampeding stores to grab a cheap stand mixer we probably don’t need and let folks have the day to enjoy with family and friends?
So why not grab my free printable – absolutely free too by the way — not even asking for an email to get it — that’s how important of an issue I believe this to be.
Grab it and vow to stay out of the stores and enjoy your family this Thanksgiving.
The stores will be open bright and early on Black Friday and if you’re so inclined you can deal with the mad, crazy rush of people who feel the need to buy something nobody really wants or needs.
Happy Thanksgiving!
