Just stay home

Five years ago, for the first time ever, retailers—mostly big-boxes—decided to do the unthinkable and open on Thanksgiving day. They took the one holiday that is dedicated to being thankful for what we have and made it about making money, about selling people crap they probably don’t need, wrapped up all pretty and called a “deal.”

Thanksgiving is a time to be with family—to cook together, share a meal together, maybe watch football and drink beer or wine together. But as Americans, we’ve become so accustomed to being able to get what we want when we want it that we apparently can’t even wait one day to get to the Black Friday shopping list. Retailers know this and feed off our obsession with instant gratification. This has to stop.

There are some encouraging numbers, as reported by Market Watch, indicating that fewer shoppers will be heading to the store this Thanksgiving day. We at the CN&R are among them, and we encourage our readers to join us in boycotting Thanksgiving shopping.

Do it for our culture, and do it for the employees at those stores who will have their holidays cut short because the businesses they work for put the bottom line over family values.

And when you do hit the stores after the holiday, remember to shop locally. This year, instead of spending your cash on Black Friday, focus instead on Small Business Saturday, the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Keep in mind that money spent at locally owned businesses tends to stay in the local economy. That’s something all of us in the community can be thankful for.