Black Friday: More Than Just Shopping! Discover Other Activities

What can you do on Black Friday instead of shopping? Unless you absolutely must go to the stores and take advantage of the sales, there’s much more to do.

Over the past few years, Black Friday has become less and less popular, most likely due to the addition of Cyber Monday deals and online shopping that enables many consumers to stay home and enjoy buying some great gifts without heading to the stores. If you’ve got the Friday after Thanksgiving off and you aren’t sure what to do, we’ve got some great ideas for you.

Create a Thanksgiving Part II

Are there some family members who aren’t able to get together on the actual day of Thanksgiving? Offering the option of spending time together on Friday is a great choice. This also gives you the chance to eat some of the leftovers and put that turkey into some great dishes instead of roasting a whole new bird. One of the favorites is a turkey pot pie, which can use some of the vegetables from the Thursday festivities but offer a different twist on the traditional feast. This is a great way to make sure no one gets left out of the Thanksgiving fun.

Decorate your home for Christmas

Many people grumble and groan about Christmas starting too soon every year. While many stores put out Christmas stuff before Halloween, if you want to take one holiday at a time, you certainly can. A great Black Friday tradition can be to decorate your home for the December holiday. This could be the Hannukah decorating for those of Jewish faith or any other December holiday that’s celebrated during the time.

Go outside and enjoy the day

Is there a local state park with trails you’ve wanted to explore? How far away is the local playground where kids can play and have fun? The Friday after Thanksgiving offers some great possibilities. Kids are out of school, and most parents aren’t working, which means you can spend the day hiking and exploring the wilderness around you. Take the kids, take the dog, and spend some time burning off those Turkey Day calories out on the trails in your local area.

Create a game night

Because most people are off work on Black Friday, this is a great day to enjoy some games and puzzles with your family and friends. If you have a regular game night, you can enjoy some additional players on this special day or make it an annual tradition that you’ll play some board games together on the day after Thanksgiving. This can be a lot of fun for everyone and might be a great way to combine the Thanksgiving Part II suggestion with some of your favorite board games.

Read a book

What’s that last time you had an entire day off to yourself and not on a weekend? Take this Friday to open a book you’ve always wanted to read and get deep into it. If you’ve spent all of Thanksgiving cooking, cleaning, and taking care of everyone else, it’s time for you to snuggle up with a good book and take care of yourself. Treat yourself to some hot cocoa and your favorite snacks while enjoying the wonderful day that you’ve given yourself. You’ll be busy enough on the weekend, so take Friday off.

Get some home projects done

Do you have a closet that you’ve been meaning to get organized? Does your garage need to be rearranged and cleaned? Are your drawers full of things you’ll never wear again? Its time to go through some of these areas and things to donate some stuff, clean up your home, and create a much better living situation for you and your family. Seeing what you’ve got in your home that you no longer need might get rid of any desire you have to shop on Black Friday or any other day.

Start a new hobby

If you’ve never been a hobby person, Black Friday is a great day to start one and find an activity you might enjoy. If you’ve participated in hobbies in the past, this day is a great day to begin again and enjoy the fun of the hobby you know and love. Start small; you’ve only got this one day to start with, but if you find a hobby you like, you’ll want to start carving out some time each week to enjoy this wonderful activity.

These are only seven ideas of things you can do on Black Friday instead of shopping; can you think of a few more?