I never shop on Black Friday. In fact, this year there will be no shopping. We are not doing the “gift thing” in our big family, we are bringing Christmas back to what it was for most of us growing up, family being together, tons of good food etc. Our children have MUCH more than most children do…their gift from us this year is a gift card each to their favorite store…in the amount of 40.00 - that is it. So today, I will be cooking again, as we have another family dinner tonight, and another tomorrow night! I’m in heaven with all of this cooking!

We always get our tree the day after Thanksgiving and begin putting up Christmas decorations. I can’t imagine why people put themselves through that shopping mess today. Best Buy is putting out port-a-potties and issuing tickets - racing out there to fight the crowds at 4 and 5 a.m.? Not even when I was young and very broke!! Enjoy the weekend all!

This is the day I veg. - PJs ‘til noon. I hate crowds so can’t understand how people can clump close together fighting over things and standing in check out lines for hours- yuck. JB, our family is focusing more on the true meaning of Christmas as well. Let’s bring back the Christmas I had growing up in the 50’s/60’s; a couple of small, meaningful gifts and tons of love for each other.

Shopping?! Never. My house is clean, the holiday is over, and my son is off school so I was able to sleep till 8:30 today! This is a day to relax, which is my plan.

I’ve never shopped on that Friday. Of course I also seemed to have missed the “shopping gene” in general and prefer to only shop online.

It is 12:30 and I am still in my nightgown ;-)……. I’ve finished a piece of Pumpkin/pecan pie, and I just ordered a book online with a 40% off coupon. The kids are packing up leftovers to take home with them. Later I will sit back down at the computer and order iPhoto calendars for gifts. Then I will order online tickets to see “Australia” tomorrow. I wouldn’t go near a store if you paid me ! I prefer Black Friday in my PJs

I will be enjoying the continued visit from family. The bulk of our gift-giving will be gift cards, so going out today is not necessary for any of us. I will be giving gift cards from the grocery store and Wal-Mart. I really don’t like wally world, but the people receiving the cards loves shopping there and Sam’s Club. The gift cards will help with bulk-pricing groceries and low cost gas. It is a gift that will allow them to spend their money on other things they need, besides groceries and gas. Our family members also drew names and we only gift for a few family members now instead of everyone. The quality of the gift and the monetary value of the gift cards will be very appreciated. My family also shops for Christmas and birthdays throughout the entire year and the bulk of our purchasing is done and over before Black Friday arrives. Before we go our separate ways after the Christmas holidays, we will draw our names for next year’s gift giving and we will shop for that special something for that person all year. We may find that special gift at the one of the many after Christmas clearance sales or it could be after Valentine’s Day, or Easter. One thing is for sure and certain, we shop when we want to, not when the commercialized retail industry tells us to.

Now that the NYP headlines that a poor sucker is now dead trying to keep Walmart shoppers from surging when the door was opened, and a woman has miscarried in the midst of that mess, and your question asks if we are all going out shopping on “black Friday”—you must be kidding! I am still in my nightgown and it is after 10 a.m. I have NEVER shopped on the Friday after Thanksgiving. There is not an item in the world that would lure me into doing so.

I guess that the competiative part of me left when it comes to being the first in line to spend money. I find the season more enjoyable when I take some time during the season and think about what a great gift is for the particular person. My family has given up the big switch routine with 5 siblings and thousands of miles between us, the phone call is good enough. So, I get to relax and bake cookies over the next few weeks and think of two or three great gifts for my 8 year old. I do miss spending time with them, but, I do not miss the pushing, shoving and all things that do not represent the holiday, but, do come with the shopping part of this season. Something about the phrase “the reason for the season” comes to mind.

I’ve never even been in the vicinity of a shop in the day-after-madness. I dislike crowds, too. Except by a fluke when in Upper East side for Thankgsgiving one year. We went out to stroll Madison, 5th, Park….and into a few shops I like but bought nothing. Went to Central Park, to the Carlyle’s Bemelmans Bars with its famous murals painted by Ludwig Bemelman (creator of the Madeline books). Had a great time and went out to eat. The streets were packed. This year the polls show people are staying home. Today, I’m off to take a long walk by the beach and then get back to my Internet work.

A Wal-Mart employee in suburban New York died after being trampled by a crush of shoppers who tore down the front doors and thronged into the store early Friday morning, turning the annual rite of post-Thanksgiving bargain hunting into a frenzy. The 34-year-old employee, who was not identified, was knocked down by a crowd that broke down the doors of the Wal-Mart at the Green Acres Mall in Valley Stream, N.Y., and surged into the store. He was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital at 6 a.m. The police said that three other shoppers were injured and a 28-year-old pregnant woman was taken to the hospital for observation. One shopper, Kimberly Cribbs, said she was standing near the back of the crowd at around 5 a.m. on Friday when people started pulling the doors from their hinges and rushing into the store. She said several people were knocked to the ground, and parents had to grab their children by the hands to keep them from being caught in the crush.“They were falling all over each other,” she said. “It was terrible.” The Nassau County Police said the man’s exact cause of death had not been determined. Wal-Mart did not immediately respond to phone messages seeking comment. I hate shopping, I hate crowds, I hate traffic. The above makes me even more determined not to venture out! Can you imagine? This poor soul being trampled to death by zealous shoppers!