Each year of my childhood, my mom got up T-2ish hours BEFORE the crack of dawn to do Santa’s errands the day after Thanksgiving. She had a list, checked it twice, and knocked out all the gifts in one blissfully cheap and fun day. She loved it—well as much as you could love frantic shopping. Clearly, everyone else did because more stores started opening early each year and the frantic shoppers grew EN MASSE.

It got more frustrating, and as we got older, and my mom didn’t need to play Santa while we slept, we went with her. It was a tradition. We picked stores from the paper on Thanksgiving and decided if we’d hit Houston or Sugar Land (the latter always won) and we go to one or two stores, hit a Starbucks, a few more and then go to breakfast. We’d strategize which item to go for first and who would go straight to the checkout line to hold a place. Most of our shopping was for us—with a few exceptions. Then we’d go home and rest put up the Christmas decorations

It was first and foremost, a tradition and a good time. We started doing it apathetically, with no real heart, and then not at all. The sales started beginning on late Thanksgiving night, which we tried one year to mix it up. No real issue.

But now, the sales start as early as Thanksgiving day itself. These store employees are forgoing their own family time for these sales and for what? So the Millers can get their son that flatscreen TV he wants for a whopping $60 less?

It’s gotten to a point where it pretty much disgusts me and think really hard about what our materialist, capitalist world is going to take us. No where good. But, I digress.

I’m not boycotting stores or starting a campaign against the stores that participate. But I am forgoing my family’s tradition like so many store employees had to do this year.

I’ll just Blackout Friday instead. See you at the bars.