Dear Kid,

The parade has been watched (by those of us who were awake), the bird had been eaten (partially), football has been watched (extensively), and tummies are still full from yesterday.

Whoever said money can’t buy happiness simply didn’t know where to go shopping.  ~Bo Derek

It’s funny to think that as I sit here in my p.j.s writing this, there are people who have already been out and come home from their Black Friday shopping. I am not one of them, but I hope they found all the deals they were looking for. Which is actually what Black Friday is all about.

Today I learned (TIL) that Black Friday is so named because it is the day that retailers traditionally move into the “black” (become profitable). Apparently, that is a bunch of hokum put out because it sounds better than the real origin of the term.

According to SEC filings, most retailers are profitable every quarter.

In Philadelphia, the day after Thanksgiving was pretty much a nightmare of crowds and traffic problems. The police department dis-affectionately called the day Black Friday because of the chaos.

Another thing I learned is that Black Friday is not the biggest shopping day of the year. No matter what the advertisers would like you to believe, the Saturday before Christmas is traditionally the biggest spending day as all those happy procrastinators stop being happy and stop procrastinating. People are out looking for bargains. According to my friend the internet, Black Friday doesn’t even make the top five shopping days. But who knows? Maybe this year, BF will crack through and win the crown. Probably not.

When women are depressed, they eat or go shopping.  Men invade another country.  It’s a whole different way of thinking.  ~Elayne Boosler

In still more educational news, it seems that Cyber Monday is pretty much not a big deal in the cyber shopping world. Now that someone from Shop.org named it (before it was just called Monday), Cyber Monday is more important to retailers than it used to be. Now there is push for Cyber Black Friday where people are encouraged to sit on their comfy couches in the comfy p.j.s and shop without having to deal with all those people who flock to the stores.

In honor of Black Friday, Booker has decided not to change a thing about his activities. I am planning to go to the gym to burn off some of the 27 pounds I gained yesterday. My guess is you and Pi are planning to sleep a good bit of the day away.

Sounds like a good day to me.

Love, Mom