Community Corner
Patch Picks: Top Tips for Taking On Black Friday
The sales are big and the crowds are even bigger. Patch found five great tips to help keep your Black Friday from becoming Black-and-blue Friday.
1. Be sure you know each store’s return policy. While it may seem like a great deal or the perfect gift during the excitement of your shopping day, there’s still a lot of time between now and the day of gift giving. Many stores will not accept returns on deeply discounted items or may offer only store credit or exchange. Don’t buy blindly.
2. Check which items are on sale which days. While Black Friday is the humdinger of sales days, many stores space out their offers over the weekend to keep shoppers browsing and tempt those who may need naps not malls the day after the big feast to still come out and make some purchases.
3. Don’t forget about shopping locally. While the big chain stores dominate the evening news and mailboxes, smaller, independent businesses also offer great Thanksgiving madness sales. Check your favorite local boutique’s website before heading out or give them a call. Don’t assume because it’s a small, local shop that they are closed. In fact, local businesses often offer the best deals and service. , 1518 Foothill Blvd., ,1357 Foothill Blvd., Fancy Corner, 1341 Foothill Blvd. and , 1029 Foothill Blvd., are just a few great LCF gift spots.
Find out what's happening in La Cañada Flintridgewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
4. Take a break. Don’t shop until you drop. Not only is it exhausting to hop from store to store, but you could easily get wrapped up in the good times and spend more than you budgeted. A time out or two during the day, or even splitting your shopping trips up over the weekend, can help keep your wallet from exploding and keep buyer’s regret at bay.
5. Keep it nice. We’ve all seen the shoving, screaming and nastiness that unfortunately seems to be part of Black Friday. Crowds can bring out the worst in us, especially when we’re all after the same prize. Joking about elbow pads and helmets is fine, but you’ll get more with honey than... well. Try to keep a positive, calm attitude and remember, it’s about fun, family, and finding something awesome, not beating everyone else to the bargain punch by throwing a punch.
