I don’t know about you, but the thought of venturing out to a mall today on “Black Friday” fills me with dread and anxiety.

Dread because of all of the things that will be bought today and forgotten in a month’s time.

Anxiety because of all of the people, all vying for the latest and greatest thing. Sometimes with disregard for their fellow human.

I think we’ve all seen enough evidence of this through videos on the internet or the nightly news.

How I’m Spending Black Friday

Aside from a visit to the car repair shop to get something fixed (not surprisingly, they had quite a few openings today), I am staying very close to home.

Instead of shopping today, even online, I am reading a book called “A Discovery of Witches” that I am very enchanted with (see what I did there) and spending time with my family.

Our outdoor holiday lights have been hung and later this evening we will put up and decorate our tree, followed by a movie.

So, with that in mind, I thought I’d throw out a list of some alternative activities to do on Black Friday, in lieu of shopping.

Although this is coming a little late (you never know when inspiration will strike), I think this list can come in handy whenever the need to go shopping, particularly out of boredom, arises.

Because, if you’re anything like me, we already have enough. Actually, more than enough.

7 Alternative to Shopping on Black Friday

1. Read a book. Perhaps you have a book on your shelf that you’ve been meaning to read but that you haven’t gotten around to. Or perhaps there’s a topic that you’ve been interested in lately that you’d like to learn more about but you haven’t found the time. Right now is the perfect time to read that book or to go to the library and check out books on an interesting topic.

2. Pick up litter. Grab a garbage bag, some gloves and head outside to an area that can use a little TLC. This is a rewarding way to spend a day doing something positive for the environment, instead of purchasing even more things that will eventually find their way into the landfill.

3. Cook/bake something new. Is there a recipe that you’ve been meaning to prepare? Have a craving for something delicious? Now is the perfect time to get out the ingredients and go for it! Plus, you get to enjoy something delicious that you proudly prepared at the end. Win/win!

4. Play a board game with somebody whose company you enjoy. Sometimes it’s not easy to make the time for a simple board game anymore with all of the distractions of everyday life, not to mention our electronic devices. But I always end up amazed at what a good time I had playing a board game and wonder why I don’t make the time to do it more often. Does that happen to you too?

5. Do a closet purge. Or declutter some other area of your home that has been bothering you. Take the time that you would have devoted to shopping and use that time to declutter and organize an area in your home that stresses you out. You get to avoid the stresses of shopping and you get rid of a daily stressor, all in one fell swoop.

6. Watch a movie. Personally, I will probably be doing quite a bit of this over the holiday season. I am especially looking forward to watching some classics such as “A Christmas Carol”, “Love Actually”, “Home Alone”, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation”, “Elf”, and “Scrooged”, just to name a few.

7. Invite a friend to meet you for a walk and coffee afterwards. Having just celebrated a holiday in which we give thanks for the blessings in our life, reach out to a friend and spend some quality time catching up on each other’s lives.

There are a number of other activities that we can do instead of shop today. If you think of some different ones, I’d be grateful if you could please share them below.

However you choose to spend this day, I hope you are doing something that brings you joy and happiness!

All the best,

Gillian