If you are going home for the holidays you are in luck: any place other than New York City is way less stressful to do Black friday shopping. Most places other than New York have easy access to huge shopping malls with a large selection of stores. Ideally, a mall would be the best place to shop because it has easy access to food, restrooms, and all of the stores are close together. However… If you are going to be staying in the city for Black Friday, brace yourself, things could get crazy. People taking items out of your hands, stores being so busy that sometimes there are lines out the door, and no access to a car are just a few of your biggest problems. Scary right? Well don’t worry. If you are going to be home for the holidays or in the city, I’ve got you covered. Here are some of my tips to conquer Black Friday like a boss no matter where you will be.
How to prepare Yourself: Black Friday is the biggest shopping event of the year, so you are going to need to be prepared for… ANYTHING
1. Have a plan of what you are going to buy. Seriously, this will save your life. If you make sure you have everything you are going to buy written down, you won’t spending all your time looking for things. Instead, you’ll have more time to get as much stuff as possible for unbeatable prices. Also make a list of all the places you are going to want to shop at, and put them in order from most important to least important (this will help you budget your time so you can take advantage of all the great offers before they expire).
2. If you really want to maximize your time, try on clothes beforehand. Go to the stores the before Black Friday to pick out and try on any clothes from stores you want to shop at. Stores are crazy on Black Friday, and so are dressing room lines, so cut out some stress by visiting stores beforehand. That way, all you have to do when you go to those stores on Black Friday is pick the out all the clothes you want in the sizes you want and get right on the check-out line. This will eliminate stress since stores are way less crowded on a normal weekend than Black Friday.
3. If you are in NYC or another city: invest in a Rolser and some Shopping Handles.
A rolser is great for the city because if you don’t have access to a car this will be an easy way for you to store purchases. If you can’t get a rolser or don’t have one already, I would recommend shopping handle because they are cheap and extremely helpful. They are easier to grip and hold than regular shopping bag handles and you can attach two shopping bags on one (so you are essentially carrying less handles).
4. If you won’t be in NYC, a car is great for storing things you already bought, and it can help you get to other shopping malls fast.
5. The morning of, eat a big breakfast. While shopping on Black Friday, the last thing you want to do is spend that precious time eating. So make sure to eat a huge breakfast and pack a granola bar or some kind of small snack in your purse for when you get hungry. You can always snack while you are waiting in lines.
6. Don’t forget that credit or debit card when you leave. Cash is to annoying to deal with when you in a rush. Just bring a card so you can swipe away.
Places having the best Black Friday sales:
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Pacsun→ By one get one 50% off the whole store. Jeans and Other Pants Buy one Get one Free.
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Victoria Secret→ (usually) get free slippers with pajama purchase, $25 pink sweatshirts, plus free bag of goodies when you spend $75
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Forever 21→ select items up to 60% off
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Hollister and Abercrombie → 50% off until 12pm 40% rest of day
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H&M→ up to 60% off entire store
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Bath and Body Works→ VIP Gift bag for only $25 when you spend $40, Buy 3 get three free all signature collection
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The Body Shop→ (buy 3 get 3 free, buy 2 get 1 free all products)
Bonus Tip: A lot of stores do time period sales→ If you get there before, lets say, 12pm you can get 50% the entire store, and anything after 12pm you will only get 40%. Take advantage of this. Getting up early can be hard, but it will be worth it in the end. Also keep in mind, some places have started to begin their sales at 12:00 am or Thanksgiving night, so if you are not much of any morning person, hit the stores at night.