Black Friday, an informal name for the day following Thanksgiving Day in the United States, the fourth Thursday of November, has long been regarded as the beginning of the country's Christmas shopping season. It has routinely been the busiest shopping day of the year in the United States with many major retailers opening very early, as early as overnight hours, and offering promotional sales.
But there's much more one can do on Black Friday other than shop! Here are 8 ideas:
1.) Attend a community event or visit a State Park! If you're lucky enough to have sunny skies and moderate temperatures, spend the day outside and work off that second helping of mashed potatoes. Prefer to do something indoors or looking for other happenings in the community? Check the Macaroni Kid calendar for kid-friendly events and activities!
2.) Cut Down Your Own Christmas Tree! Create a new holiday tradition and head to a Christmas tree farm to cut your own. Refer to our helpful tips for hunting for the perfect tree.
3.) Enjoy the First Lights of the Season! Check our list of holiday lights to find all the Christmas displays around the local area.
4.) Decorate Your House! Now that Thanksgiving has passed, crank up the Christmas music and begin the process of decorating your house. Starting the process now will make the holiday season feel longer, and you can take the whole day to enjoy it and get everything just so.
5.) Host a Christmas Cookie Exchange! Invite 10-20 of your friends and family members over for a fun party. Each person should bring 3-6 dozen cookies (depending on the size of the guest list) along with enough copies of the recipe for all the guests. Everyone will leave with enough baked goods to last the rest of the season. Need a recipe to try? Check out our "box of chocolates" cookies with 9 scrumptious variations!
6.) Purge Outgrown Toys and Books! Between Santa, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, teachers, and friends, many kids get a LOT of new things coming in. Sort through the toys and books in your kids' bedrooms and playroom to clear out whatever is broken, outgrown, or just isn't played with anymore. Donate what you can and throw away the rest ... no regrets!
7.) Sign Up to Adopt a Family! Give your children the gift of compassion in a very tangible way and make another family's holiday wishes come true too. You can adopt an entire family or simply donate one new, unwrapped toy.
8.) Plan Your Elf on the Shelf Adventures! Make your plan for your elf's grand entrance on the first day, and then come up with a loose plan for the remaining days or find a guide online that you can follow for the month. Need fun ideas? Plan a North Pole Breakfast for your elf's appearance and check out these 75 fun and creative Elf on the Shelf ideas.
Whatever you decide to do on Black Friday, we hope your day is filled with fun!
