A few years ago on Thanksgiving Day, I watched two of my older cousins leave my Grandma’s house and return an hour later with socks. I heard them rehash the details of bursting into Target to grab the socks and run into line to beat the rest of the “Black Friday” crowd.

Finally, when I was considered old enough by my mother, I went with my cousins to the fateful Target on Thanksgiving to experience “Black Friday” for myself. But, it was not worth all of the hype.

Thinking about it now, Black Friday has started to blur together with Thanksgiving Day, which in introspect defeats the entire purpose of spending a day giving thanks. Instead of gathering with loved ones and celebrating life, people are lining up in front of stores for hours just to find a good deal.

Even with low prices, many of the best deals sell out instantly, giving way to measly sale prices. Since the most popular products are sold out first, there is guaranteed disappointment when the one thing you wanted is completely gone.  

Besides taking away the feeling of thanks and ripoffs, Black Friday has required employees to give up their holiday to work for raging masses of people. Every year it seems as if Black Friday edges earlier and earlier into Thanksgiving, which ruins the holiday for a lot of people.

Obviously with giant groups of people, arguments can start to form very quickly. With everyone fighting over the latest and greatest electronics, stores quickly become hectic and frantic.

Ultimately, this takes away the fun of waking up early to go shopping for low priced items.

Though I am one for great deals on just about anything, dealing with hundreds of angry customers is not worth the hassle.

Even so, the worst part of Black Friday might be the terribly long lines. On Black Friday the lines seem to go on forever, which takes forever to get through. Lines tend to wind through aisles and aisles in the stores, which wastes time.

From fights to lines to ruining Thanksgiving, Black Friday is not worth all of the hassle or the hype. Even with seriously good deals on some items, Black Friday serves only to interrupt Thanksgiving, and waste everyone’s time.

So instead of spending time in outrageously crowded stores, spend some extra time with the family you may or may not love and give thanks.