Thanksgiving is almost here, which means that it’s time to start planning your Black Friday shopping. In years past, Black Friday shopping was reserved for early Friday mornings. Your kids were probably in bed, so your spouse stayed home watching them while you went out and hit all the sales. Recently, however, Black Friday has changed so that the sales start Thursday evening and continue throughout the weekend. This can change how you shop since you might have your kids with you. Here are some tips you can use to make Black Friday shopping easier with kids.
Bring a Shopping Buddy
As parents, we usually take advantage of Black Friday to find some great deals on toys for Christmas. If you have your kids with you, it can be pretty difficult to sneak a Christmas gift from Santa Claus without letting your kids see it. To help solve this problem, consider going shopping with a shopping buddy. Another parent makes a great shopping buddy since you can arrange it so that one parent stays with all the kids while another parent grabs those stocking stuffers and big gift items. This arrangement makes it so that each parent gets those toys from their kids’ Christmas wish lists without the kids catching a glimpse of their gifts.
Keep Your Kids Entertained
If you’re bringing your kids with you during Black Friday shopping, don’t forget to bring a few items to keep your kids entertained. This can be something as simple as letting each child pick out a favorite toy to bring with them. You might want to consider bringing a tablet or gaming system as well. Those lines can get pretty long, so being able to pull up a movie on your tablet or letting your kids play a favorite video game will help keep them quiet and happy.
Leave Them At Home
Although Black Friday shopping can start as early as 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day, you can still arrange to have someone stay at home with your kids. If your extended family has an afternoon or evening meal scheduled for Thanksgiving, you might want to speak with one of your family members about letting your kids spend the night so that you can get all of the good deals. This allows you to shop to your heart’s content without needing to entertain the kids.
In Conclusion
Black Friday shopping can be hectic and crazy, but it’s definitely worth it to get those great deals. Although leaving your kids at home is always the easiest thing to do, if you need to bring them along, don’t forget to bring toys to entertain them and a shopping buddy to help out.
