Rant #2,457: The Turkey

It is October 2, we have way less than 100 days to Christmas, and we have less than 60 days for Thanksgiving.

Yes, it is not too soon to think about the big end of the year holidays, and I guess that includes Halloween, too, which comes at the end of the month.

But let's focus on Thanksgiving this time around.

Thanksgiving is perhaps, at least to me, the best holiday on the calendar, because it does not involve any gift giving--you are the gift during this family-oriented holiday, and the big bird is the star.

But in recent years, many retailers have decided that this is the time to make their money, to make their big splurge on the year, and thus, the Thanksgiving period--the actual day, the day after, and the ensuing weekend--has become one big buying blitz, where the supposed best bargains of the year can be had in preparation for Christmas.

To really get into the buying spirit, many stores are open on Thanksgiving, stay open all night, and barely close for that four-day period.

This practice has come under fire, because some believe it is anti-family, anti-worker, and that the practice really goes against the grain about what the holiday is all about.

However, let's be honest about it: if people did not shop during this period, the stores would not be open, so generally, these stores being open during ridiculous hours--including on Thanksgiving itself--is filling a need created by the very consumers who decry the practice.

But not every store is so brazen, at least in their brick-and-mortar locations. Some stores do not open on the day of Thanksgiving at all, and many don't even have extended hours on the Friday after, better known today as Black Friday.

Of course, with the advent of eCommerce and the Internet, many of these stores kind of fudge it, because they do have their online ordering and fulfillment centers open 24/7 anyway, and thus, they do have workers working on the holiday, just not in the physical stores.

So just about all retailers get into the Thanksgiving retail spirit one way or the other, but it is always interesting to see which retailers are not going to be open on at least the day of Thanksgiving.

For Thanksgiving 2019, the partial list is as follows:

Ace Hardware
Barnes & Noble
Costco
Dillard's
Fred Meyer
H&M
Ikea
Jo-Ann
Lowe's
Marshalls
Neiman Marcus
Office Depot
P.C. Richard & Son
REI
Staples
TJ Maxx
West Marine

I tried to do an A to Z list, but several stores under certain letters are missing, but I believe that this is a representative sample of stores that will not be open on the holiday. There are dozens more.

But for every store not open, you can bet your Thanksgiving bird that there are a commensurate amount of stores that are open on the big day, ready to serve a ready and waiting and eager public.

Not me, I can tell you that.

I have no need to shop on Thanksgiving Day, and as for Black Friday, the only shopping I do that day is at my local record store on Record Store Day. I get to the store early, get in and out quickly, and I am done, period.

I was never one to shop on these days, can't see why people go crazy with their purchases during this period and I would rather be with my family than be with other shoppers, to be honest with you.

So, are you planning on shopping on the day of Thanksgiving or on Black Friday or during the Thanksgiving weekend?

Have fun, I pretty much won't be there.