I’ll admit it. I went shopping on Black Friday.

Now don’t be getting any crazy ideas about me waking up at 2:30 a.m. You’d have to be giving away A HOUSE for me to spend the night in line outside of a store in the middle of November. I’m not 19 yo anymore hoping to see The Rolling Stones once before they retire (hey who’d a thought Keith Richards would live this long??).

All of the shopping I did Friday was Santa-related. Therefore, I wanted to make sure I could easily hide the gifts from the prying eyes of my three crazies.

Lessons learned?

1.  When you drive off in your small car wondering why it was you had thought about driving the big SUV with the tinted windows, go with your gut and turn around to exchange cars.

I looked at the circulars the night before, compared prices, determined the bargains worth pursuing and reminded myself to drive the SUV. So why did I hop in the little car the next morning??
Who freaking knows.

It was early and I still had a turkey hangover. That’s the only way I can explain it.

All I know is I was shoving bags into every crevice in that damn little car, bitching at myself for not having cleaned it out and realizing I’d have to go drop stuff off at home before I could park it in the next parking lot or fear being robbed.

Annoyed–mostly at myself.

2.  ToysRUs needs to get itself a mom blogger panel or something STAT!

Target had red bags to use for Christmas presents.  KMart had black bags that said “no peeking” on them.

ToysRUs?  See-thru tan bags.  Um?  You primarily sell toys.  It’s Black Friday.  Do you think I waited for twenty minutes for staff restock the shelves and stood in that winding line to buy a birthday present for my kid’s classmate?!  This clearly isn’t your first Christmas in business is it?  Do you have any moms on your executive staff?  I mean it had to occur to SOMEONE that providing bags kids can’t see through would be a great idea at this time of the year.

Now you know I’m a slob,  shopped big box this weekend (for the record I was also in supporting small businesses too) and that I drive a gas-guzzling suburban assault vehicle.

Oh. my. god!  I’m a suburban cliche.

Crap.

Thanks to American Express for sponsoring my writing today about small businesses.  American Express is presenting Small Business Saturday, a way to honor the local merchants who are the backbone of the economy, this Saturday, November 27.  They’re offering statement credits to people who shop at small businesses, advertising for small-business owners, and donations to Girls Inc. for “Likes” of the Small Business Saturday page on Facebook.  Join the celebration by clicking the “Like” button and then visiting the Facebook page to learn more about the program and read the terms and conditions that apply.

You taking advantage of the days off after Thanksgiving to get some holiday shopping in?  I most certainly am.  Not one to take advantage of the 3a.m. sales, I will be visiting some of my favorite stores this weekend.

One of my favorites is Fibre Space in Old Town Alexandria, VA.  It goes along with my newest addiction–knitting.  I learned about Fibre Space from the fantastic site Try Handmade.  The yarns this place has??  Amazing.  Seriously, I spend hours there petting the yarn frequently (it’s a problem I know, but I don’t want help).

The other thing I love about the store is that all of the people who work there are not only knowledgeable, but also really nice.  I’ve asked what have felt like the dumbest questions and they not only take time to teach but offer to have me come sit and knit to practice.

Plus the other cool thing?  Danielle, the owner, is all about social media and has been working to have a real online presence as well as fostering a mutual support system with the other small businesses in Old Town.  You can always pop into the store or the website and find out what else is going on in town.

The store offers great sales, classes, get-togethers and even movie nights.  I was there on a recent Thursday night and they were having to bring out more chairs for all of the people who were pouring in to socialize and knit.

I am being compensated for this post–yes, but this is a store I truly love.  And I MUCH prefer to support my local small businesses whenever I can.

Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

…And tell me what you’re planning to shop for.

I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity , as do I.