It’s Black Friday, and every year I remember why I stay home.
I know people who still get up before dawn to stand in line in the freezing cold. I’m awake, but you won’t see me in a store where someone thinks they’re being cute by grabbing something out of my hands.
Black Friday Used To Be Dangerous
It’s hard to think about it now, but it wasn’t that long ago where Black Friday would turn retailers into mayhem. Crammed aisles, tents lined outside with large crowds of people. Some of them would get into fights over a parking space. Shoppers would get shoved around or even trampled. Shopping on Black Friday was like a competitive sport with shopping carts.
Here’s the thing. If I’m holding the last foldable smartphone and someone tries to snatch it from my hands, they’d better be prepared for a fight. It’s happened before. There was one person itching for a fight, all because of some laptop that was half off. I don’t know if it was my voice saying “let it go,” the look on my face, or my fist balling up. They backed off real quick. A reminder of why you should think about how someone will react before making your move.
I’m not in the mood to navigate a battlefield of desperate shoppers hopped up on adrenaline, ready to throw hands over a TV.
Online Shopping Makes More Sense
For years I’ve done my Christmas shopping online, and I love it. I get it done early because I actually enjoy scrolling through pages. I read customer reviews while I sip from my glass of wine with the music playing. I have plenty of time to compare what I want without someone breathing down my neck.
I don’t have to fight for anything. The only thing I’m wrestling with is the WiFi. Which is better than a human swinging their fist at me.
Then everything arrives at my door in boxes I can sneak past the kids. No one tries to grab it out of my hands. It’s peaceful.
What You Avoid By Staying Home
Where do I begin?
No lines.
No hostile crowds.
No walking into a store to find the thing I wanted is sold-out.
No remembering where I parked my car.
No shoving or pushing.
No brawls.
These days, most retailers allow you to shop from their websites. Everything is delivered to your door, with in-store or curbside pickup if you can’t accept deliveries during work hours.
Why would I put myself in a crowd full of people who don’t know how to act? Black Friday isn’t the dangerous mess it once was for most people. Yet it doesn’t change the fact that I’d rather be at home with my music on, waiting for my gifts to be delivered to my door.
The holidays are right around the corner. Shopping should be enjoyable, not a makeshift cage fight. Back in the day, you had no choice. The internet did not exist. Now… why? If you want better deals without all the drama, buying what you want online is the way to go.
Happy shopping.
📌 Changelog
- December 5, 2025: Changed the formatting and re-wrote some sections to improve the flow of the article.
- November 28, 2008: Date article was originally published.
