The Best Deals on Black Friday

The most popular holiday shopping day of the year is just around the corner. Stores are opening up their doors and offering amazing deals for the upcoming Christmas season. Lines of eager customers form outside stores in the wee hours of the night hoping to get a head start on their holiday shopping. They may be thinking that they are saving tons of money on the latest and greatest, but what they don't realize is that they are missing some of the best Black Friday deals. Deals that no store can offer, but are available to all.

Deal #1. Sleeping In.

Taking the time to sleep in Friday morning is one of the best deals on Black Friday. It isn't available to the first ten customers only, but to everyone! No credit required! Let the turkey coma take its effect and relax on your Black Friday morning. Just turn that alarm clock off and wake up whenever you want to. This deal is also available through Saturday and Sunday mornings. Something that no store can offer you.

Deal #2. Family Activities.

This Black Friday deal is missed the most. It is never advertised on TV, but it does have the greatest value. Stores never offer any deals for the entire family, it is only for the individual. Take advantage of these deals while they are still available. For some it may be that this is the only time of the year to spend time with Grandma and Grandpa or with old Uncle Lou. Treasure up the time with your family. The memories created will last longer than any Black Friday deal. Play games. Do puzzles. Take a family picture, even though it's sometimes more complicated than solving a Rubik's Cube. Share stories. These deals won't always be there, so it is best to take advantage of these now.

Deal #3. Relax and Reflect.

Even when Thanksgiving is over and the leftovers are packed in the fridge, it is okay to continue in Thanksgiving. Expressing gratitude isn't reserved only for the fourth Thursday of the year. In fact it's okay to show thanks throughout the entire year. Take the time to reflect on the past year and relive the  happy moments. You could visit the bad moments too, but that isn't the essence of reflection and relaxation. This deal will individually benefit you the most. It's free. It's refreshing. It's enlightening. 

It seems as if Black Friday is spreading like a plague over the things that matter most in life. It is now slowly creeping over into Thanksgiving as some stores are opening their doors at 6pm Thursday night. I feel bad for the employees of such stores that have to spend their time dealing with the mad rush of customers when they too, I'm sure, would love to be spending time with their families on Thanksgiving night. Don't let the deals of Black Friday ruin your Thanksgiving holiday, but rather take advantage of these hidden deals. Sleep in on Friday. Relax and enjoy some quality time with the family. 

Christmas Music: It's Okay Before Thanksgiving

Historically, Christmas music has been playing far before Thanksgiving was even a holiday. 

One of the hot topics of the Holiday Season is not whether you are going to your in-laws or staying home for Christmas. It's not whether to get a fake tree or a live tree. It comes much before Christmas even starts. This discussion is very controversial for almost every family. It's whether to listen to Christmas music before or after Thanksgiving.

Let's start with an elementary school history lesson. If you were to ask a young school goer "Why do we celebrate Thanksgiving?" They might answer as follows:

"It's when Daddy watches football all day and mommy is in the kitchen making food."

Well, that is what they might say. Here is what they should say.

"To celebrate when Squanto and other Indians had dinner with the Pilgrims."

Close enough. The point is that Thanksgiving is a United States Holiday that celebrates a meal the Pilgrims had with the Wampanoag Indians in Plymouth, Massachusetts. However, at that day the United States wasn't even formed and wouldn't be until over a hundred years later. Thanksgiving was declared a federal Holiday during the Civil War when Abraham Lincoln declared it a day of "Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens" in 1863. It was to be celebrated on the fourth Thursday of every month.

With that in mind let's review the reason why we celebrate Christmas. Once again if you were to ask a child why we celebrate Christmas, they may respond as follows:

"It's when daddy watches TV and mommy is in the kitchen making food. And Santa comes and brings toys."

Well, that is not quite right, but it's a start. It's the celebration of Jesus Christ's birth on this earth over 2000 years ago. A precious and promised gift from Heavenly Father of His only begotten Son. Therefore, Christmas has preceded Thanksgiving even hundreds of years before Columbus even set sail across the Atlantic Ocean. Therefore, traditional Christmas carols and music have been played way before Thanksgiving. And it will always be that way.

Here are just a few of the popular Christmas carols that have been playing before Thanksgiving was even a holiday:

• 1849 - It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
• 1823 - The First Noel
• 1818 - Silent Night
• 1739 - Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

There are some that even date to the 15th and 16th centuries. The point is that historically, Christmas music has been playing far before Thanksgiving. I, however, understand the importance of Thanksgiving and expressing gratitude for the blessings we have. Isn't the reason we celebrate Christmas a good reason to be thankful and express gratitude anyway? I don't think we should associate Thanksgiving and Christmas as separate holidays, but complimentary holidays. Thanksgiving compliments the celebration of Christmas. And perhaps that is one of the reasons why Abraham Lincoln declared it a holiday to  express "Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens" for his beloved Son Jesus Christ. Let's remember the reason for the seasons and be thankful for this wonderful and eternal gift.

P.S. I wrote this while listening to Christmas music ;)

Fall Birthdays Are The BEST!

Having a birthday in the Fall is the best. Everyone enjoys celebrating their own birthdays. There are some that don't, and that is okay. We still get to eat their cake. It is an entire day that celebrates YOU! Cake, presents, and parties! It is wonderful, but there is something magical about having it in the Fall.

First of all this post is totally biased as my birthday is in November. Even if it weren't I would be totally jealous of all the birthdays in the Fall. Anyway, here are three reasons why fall birthdays are the best.

1. Football

Football is America's sport, and every single weekend is packed with Football. High School football on Friday night with college football taking over most television networks on Saturday, then the NFL playing all day Sunday. Having your birthday on a football weekend makes it a whole lot easier to plan a party. It might be the worst birthday ever if your team loses, but remember the day is about you and not the team.

2. The Change of Seasons

Fall can be one of the most beautiful times of the year. Nature truly transcends all beauty as the fall leaves emerge in their beautiful displays of oranges, reds and yellows. It is as if Mother Nature, in her tender voice, is saying "My Dear, I know it's your birthday so I decided to light some birthday candles of my own. But don't try and blow them out. You'll probably pass out." Even she cares about you on your birthday. 

3. It is during the same time as Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

Birthdays in October, November, and December have special privileges to be in the same time as these most popular holidays. Not only is there a celebration of you, but there are the bags of candy and costume parties coupled with Halloween. Sometimes (depending on how much self-control you have) that candy will last until the fourth week of November to stuff your faces with as much food as possible for Thanksgiving. Then the Christmas season is in full swing with all the Christmas lights illuminating the dark nights with happiness. You can cozy up on the couch with a nice cup of hot chocolate and watch Christmas movies. There are so many other wonderful things about Christmas. It is definitely the most wonderful time of the year when your birthday is during one of these months. 

If you are planning a family and if you really want to make  your child's birthday the best, try to have them born during the fall. They will thank you for it later.

Birthday Smash!

When I came home from my mission, I wanted to start a birthday tradition that was unique to the time of year. I could have started by jumping in a pile of leaves every year. I don't know if you have ever jumped in a pile of leaves, but it hurts. When I watched cartoons as a kid, they showed children jumping and swimming in huge piles of leaves. What they don't show is the pain in the rear end and all the dirt that flies into your eyes. So that was out of the picture. I needed something different. Something like a piñata. But I don't like to be blindfolded and put in a circle with a bat trying to hit a cardboard box filled with candy. Honestly, it's public humiliation. But I do like the smashing idea.

I finally decided that every year on my birthday I would smash old Halloween pumpkins instead. There is no humiliation, just the sheer joy of smashing pumpkins with a baseball bat. The only difficult part is timing the carving of the pumpkin. If it is carved too early then it just becomes all soggy and mushy. When you hit a pumpkin like that, it is messy. Chunks of mold and fungus are sprayed everywhere. Just close your mouth and it's all good.

Yesterday, was the fourth year in a row that I have done this tradition. We had one little problem, though. We didn't have a bat. So I went to a thrift store to find one. With any thrift store you never know what type of people you are going to see there. After I found my choice of bat, I wanted to browse around and see if I could find some thrift store treasures. At first I felt awkward carrying a bat in a store. Maybe someone would speculate something. The more I thought about it, the more I felt safer. So I came to the conclusion that if you feel unsafe in a store and someone is following you, go to the sporting goods section and pick out a bat. Just carry it with you until you're done shopping. By then the threat would be gone. Anyway...

The birthday party was a smash. I had the privilege of hitting one of those moldy and mushy pumpkins, but I was smart to close my mouth. My wife and friends were the lucky ones who got a nice spray of old pumpkin. This is by far the best birthday tradition ever. Here is a video of my wife and I smashing her pumpkin. She carved Olaf, but that doesn't mean we don't like Frozen. She loves it in fact, and I am a proud hubby that she was willing to introduce Olaf to a baseball bat. Enjoy!