(photo credit Getty Images)
My pal Kelly. Kelly, Kelly, Kelly. She had always wanted to go to the outlets at midnight to shop on Thanksgiving night. Last year I semi-agreed to it, but after cooking for 2 days, running a "turkey trot 10k" having Thanksgiving dinner and too much wine I told her I was sleeping. Fast forward this year. I still did the cooking thing, well, part of it, didn't run a 10k, didn't have dinner guests, didn't have too much wine, so guess what I did? I had long wondered what in the world could be worth staying up all night at the outlets. Turns out, plenty!
We pulled into the parking lot at 11:30, and there was barely a space to be had. Throngs of foreigners, bargain hunters, door-buster special seeking whack-os and Kelly and me. Suddenly feeling energized by the madness and stacks of polar fleece I began thinking this was fun. It's also like the greeting card I once bought that said "Let's go bowling in Canada sometime so we can say, 'Remember that time we went bowling in Canada?'" Now we can say, "Remember that time we shopped all night at the outlets and didn't get home until 9:30 a.m.?!" Although it is said that sometimes getting 50% off means you are spending 50% too much. True that. BUT, there were EXTRA incentives for people who were willing to stay up from 3-5 a.m.. Yup, an extra 20% off. We got to the point of asking flat out if there was extra incentive and if the answer was no, then we'd leave! Then there was the point where we reached punch-drunk delirium. There is a store called Lids. They sell baseball caps. Why they didn't call it Caps, I don't know. I looked at Kelly and asked her how much she would pay me if I asked their sales person where the Tupperware lids were. She bet me breakfast. Game on. I walked in and asked some baby faced teen, (the kind of kid who probably just started shaving the 6 hairs on his chin) where their Tupperware lids were. Completely straight faced. I got the deer in headlights just got stumped look from baby saIes guy. I had the shock and awe look of disgust on my face when he said they didn't sell Tupperware. So I proceeded to ask, "This is a lid store and you only have baseball caps? Ok, thanks. (sarcastic tone). Kelly bolted and we both giggled and on we went. Don't even get me going on when I asked the Samsonite luggage guy where the Silhouette Spinners were and then why don't they have spinner wheels??? And when I asked the guy with three boxes of shoes in his hands if he could get me a size....yeah, he didn't work there.
Off we go. Tomorrow is December 1. Whatever you do, whatever you don't, whatever you give up, whatever you take on try to remember the real reason for the season. It's Christmas, not an issue of Martha Stewart Living. And I hope you have at least one good, let's go bowling in Canada size laugh along the way!
I alway pondered what a shopping spree in the wee hours of the morning was like. Thanks for sharing!
Posted by: Sharon Shaffer | November 30, 2009 at 09:50 AM
Next year you should come with!! I promise to not embarass u!!
Posted by: dawnielle | November 30, 2009 at 10:27 AM