Classic Rant #132 (November 13, 2009): Gearing Up For the Holidays

Well, I simply can't stand Christmas ads and promotions even before Halloween rolled around this year, and I still can't stand them when we are still about two weeks away from Thanksgiving.

That being said ...

Evidently, some information has leaked out about Target's upcoming Black Friday--the day after Thanksgiving--promotions. They will be offering $3 appliances, and a 32-in. HDTV for about $250, among other things.

This is all understandable. Last year, department stores took a real bath when it came to the holidays. The economy was really bad, lots of people were out of work, and the department stores felt something of a backlash from the public, who simply didn't want to overspend--like they normally do--around holiday time.

This year, the economy is still bad but improving, lots of people remain out of work, but department stores figure they have nothing to lose by offering amazing deals to get people into their stores.

And this is the time of year where they make the largest percentage of their profits for the year, so it is pretty much on the heads of the department stores to do something drastic to get people buying again.

Target isn't the only retailer who will offer ridiculous deals, I will tell you that. Don't you think other stores, like Macy's Kohl's, Kmart and even Wal-Mart are shaping up their holiday assortment to get people to reach into their pocketbooks (or wallets) again?

Me, I am looking to buy another computer for my wife, who is increasingly finding reasons to go onto the two computers we already have. Maybe I will get her a netbook, but I can tell you, I won't buy something like this unless the price is right--and I have the ready cash at hand. No charging for me this holiday season.

I have already bought my son Beatles Rock Band, and I would like to get him some of his passions, which are wrestling videos. He loves all of them from WWE and TNA, and they are generally affordable, although I noticed that WWE has raised the price of some of its videos by as much as $5. This is just stupid business, because people like me will cut down on the videos that they buy because the price isn't right.

My daughter always asks for money for the holidays, and money she will get. I would like to give her a good amount, but again, it depends on what level of ready cash I have.

Then there are my parents, who are people who have everything, but love it when I find something that they don't have. The search is on!

There are some other gifts for other people that I need to buy, and that shouldn't be a problem. I personally like to shop before Black Friday, because I hate the crowds during that day. And since I am generally shopping for Hanukkah, and not Christmas, I usually have a shorter time span to get what I need. This year, Hanukkah begins at sundown on December 11, or exactly two weeks prior to Christmas.

Anyway, happy shopping, grab as many discounted products as you can, but watch your pocketbooks. We are still not out of whatever our country is in here, and overspending, I think, may be a thing of the past for most Americans.

I hope it is for me.