Yes, I know this is the second post in a row with a title that begins with the word ’Tis. Life is like that sometimes. Anyway, is it me or are some holidays feeling kind of tacked on? They just seem to exist for the sake of consumerism. Unlike other holidays, many of which are sacred celebrations. Halloween is always clearly marked by pumpkins, candy, costumes, grinning skulls that shriek at you from store aisles, and lots of orange lights. The Day of the Dead has its sugar skulls and remembrances of those who have passed away. But based on the massive amount of emailed ads I recently received, some holidays have kind of been lost in the crowd while others have taken center stage.
So, as far as fall holidays are concerned, we have
• Halloween and Dia de los Muertos
• Black Friday
• Cyber Monday (today)
• Hanukkah
• Christmas
• Kwanzaa
Do I have that right? Nothing’s missing from that list, right? At least according to the ads that have flooded my email.
An emailed ad I recently received
While I hung out at my brother’s house on the day after Thanksgiving (you know, the holiday with turkey—or ribs if you prefer—that comes between Halloween/Day of the Dead and Hanukkah), I watched a Gravity Falls marathon with the fam. Wave after wave of toy commercials whizzed by. Just in time for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, I guess. I don’t see how parents of young children can stand up to the holiday toy blitz and not crumple under the pressure. Oh the humanity! I don’t even have children, and I get toy catalogues sent to me in the mail without even asking for them.
Each year the marketing blitz seems to last longer and longer as holidays get added to claim the attention of our wallets. Did you know that Cyber Monday (or at least the term) started in 2005—only 12 years ago? Black Friday, however, has been around since the ’60s according to this website.
Did you participate in Black Friday (which technically started on Thanksgiving Day)? (I didn’t go anywhere near the stores on Black Friday.) Will you participate in Cyber Monday?
While you think about that, I’ll bring up the giveaway I discussed here. I’m giving away a $30 Amazon gift card. Just in time for Cyber Monday, if that’s your thing!
Thanks to the Random Number Generator, I am happy to announce that the winner of the $30 Amazon gift card is . . .
Is . . .
Is . . .
Is . . .
Is . . .
Is . . .
Is . . .
(I can cut and paste Is . . . all day. 😀 😃 😄)
Is . . .
Is . . . (Next to the last one.)
Is . . .
Charles Yallowitz!
Congrats, Charles! Please comment below to confirm! Thank you to all who commented.
Cyber Monday images from hdwallpapersys.com and from somewhere on Pinterest. Gift image from vizfact.com. Hanukkah menorah from tucker-tribune.blogspot.com. blogspot.com. Kwanzaa image from pbslearningmedia.org. Day of the Dead image from freepik.com. Pumpkin luminary photo by L. Marie.
El Space--The Blog of L. Marie 
Ooh, I haven’t come across Kwanzaa before! I used to love Diwali when I lived opposite a Sikh temple down in London – lots of fireworks and partying. In terms of shopping we now have Black Friday too, which is particularly annoying since we don’t do Thanksgiving…
Oh my goodness! Does it start on Thursday also? The Black Friday “deals” aren’t always that great. 😞
I think it started way back last Monday this year! Yeah, I had a look at the deals on Amazon but frankly wasn’t too impressed. I feel there were much bigger bargains when it started a few years ago over here.
Yes the bargains don’t seem all that good. It’s like they’re clearing out the old merchandise.
Congratulations, Charles! What happened to the days when stores were closed on holidays? No shopping for this gal!
I remember the days. Now the store employees seem to be at work all day. 😞
Hello. I almost jumped right down here without seeing my name. Didn’t notice much for Kwanzaa and Hanukkah this year. Both seem to come in as an afterthought to Christmas. Honestly, I doubt either of those holidays would get much attention if they weren’t near the Big One. I’ll have to check out some cartoons, but weren’t they always filled with toy commercials? Sometimes the cartoon was the commercial like Transformers and He-Man.
Remember the days of cereal commercials? I didn’t see a single commercial for any product other than toys. And we watched several episodes over about three hours. We watched Disney XD. Perhaps that explains everything. There will be plenty of Star Wars licensed products this holiday season!
There aren’t many kid cereals these days. I do see Lucky Charms and Trix commercials every now and then. I already see Amazon clearing out their older Star Wars stuff for cyber Monday.
I expected to see a Pop-Tarts commercial or a GoGurt or fruit snacks commercial. But only toy commercials were shown.
Weird. I see Pop-Tarts all the time. Though more on night dramas and midday reruns. They aiming for the adults more?
Maybe college students? I lived off Pop-Tarts and Ramen noodles when I was an undergrad.
Pop-Tarts and whatever was at the late night dining for me. Always happy to have money on my food card.
I could go for a Pop-Tart now. . . . There are sooooo many flavors nowadays!
Weird that there are so many flavors out there, but the stores near me all have the same 7-10 types.
Same here. I saw some Pop-Tarts taste tests on YouTube. So many weird flavors. I know the grocery stores near me would not carry them!
I should look those up. Can only imagine the strangeness. Wonder if it’s similar to all of the Kit Kat flavors that are found in other countries.
Here’s an article on some of the flavors: http://www.delish.com/food/g3378/every-pop-tart-flavor-ranked/
I’ve tried all of those, except Watermelon. Hot Fudge Sundae and Cookie Dough were really good. Pumpkin Pie and Root Beer weren’t very good. The PB&J one was simply odd.
It figures the hot fudge sundae one and the cookie dough would be good. The root beer one seems gross to me, though I like root beer by itself (and with vanilla ice cream).
Root Beer wasn’t really gross, but it wasn’t that impressive. Reminded me of those Bottle Cap candies where all of them taste like Cola except for Grape and Orange.
I used to love the Bottle Caps! I don’t mind root beer with candy or with ice cream. But I draw the line with a Pop-Tart.
I just like Root Beer as a drink. A nice break from the standard colas.
I like a root beer float. 😀
There’s a place I went to long ago that had root beer in iced mugs. Tasted so good.
A brewery in my area serves root beer like that. Delicious! 😀
Congrats, Charles ~ have fun Cyber shopping.
You missed one shopping holiday, LM ~> “Small Business Saturday” ~> smack dab between Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Call us “unpatriotic” for our lack of consumeristic consuming, but we didn’t head to the stores for Black Friday deals. We stayed home and consumed Thanksgiving leftovers. I did pick up two Tote Boxes for my “Piles of Files” project at Staples on Saturday. And we got a few “staples” at Publix ~ bananas, lettuce, bread, and c-h-e-e-s-e for a pan of post-Thanksgiving lasagna. 😀
Forgot about that one! I saw something about it online, but didn’t pay much attention to it.
This weekend, I also consumed the Thanksgiving leftovers and some friends and I went to a German Christmas market to consume bratwurst, hot chocolate, and potato pancakes. My tongue still stings from the scaling hot chocolate. 😞
Black Friday is too black for me. Maybe if they called it White Friday, or Sunny Friday, or even Freaky Friday, I might join in. Heh. Yeah, no. Not for me. I’m little afraid of ordering online with all the warnings they’re giving people about identity theft. But then again, aren’t ALL the brick and mortar stores using computers anyway? Paying cash is the only safe way, and that may disappear in the near future.
Hope you’re doing well, Linda.
Black just sounds like nighttime to me, dark and mysterious.
Perhaps they should go with “Please Shop Here” Friday. It’s more to the point. 😄
Hi, Lori! I wonder if the stores were in the black on Black Friday. I didn’t look at the news accounts to see what occurred. Perhaps they’ll turn it into Sunny, Freak Friday. 😀
I order online via PayPal, which is safe and convenient. Or I just go to Amazon. 😀 😃
I celebrated Buy Nothing Day this year. It’s the AdBusters event that takes place the same day as Black Friday. I did buy a couple of small things for an online gift exchange and for my daughter at a small business on Saturday for Small Business Saturday. And today for Cyber Monday–no sale. I’m online letting people know they need to fight for Net Neutrality.
I didn’t buy anything except an Amazon gift card for the winner today. 😀 😃 That was my contribution for Cyber Monday.
Congrats to Charles!
Having worked retail a time or two, what most don’t understand is that all those sales mean working before, after and DURING the actual holidays…stores aren’t really closed – lots of behind closed doors prep, etc. And all usually done by minimum wage earners. Only holiday I got as time and a half was New Years and even then, overtime is never an option in retail (<39 hours to keep from paying out 'benefits' such as they are).
Now-a-days, the extended hours open on the actual holidays are more bothersome to me than the fake holidays of Black Friday, etc.
And…on-line shopping takes real people to fulfill those orders 24/7, too.
Not really an answer to your real question, but my 2cents nonetheless!!!!
😀
I know what you mean. My sister-in-law is one such person who fulfills online orders. I’d rather have people in jobs than without. Which is why I don’t do self-checkout at stores.
I worked retail as well. People in retail put up with a lot from customers.
I didn’t shop on Black Friday, but I did help babysit so my niece and nephew could shop. They needed work clothes. My niece just got a new job, and she’s not allowed to wear jeans. My grand niece and grand nephew are adorable, so babysitting for them was a big pleasure.
Aww. That was time well spent, Nicki!
Halloween is typically North American and was unknown in France. Those past years this came from America but did not root. For most people here the celebration is All Saints Day on the first of November , Day of remembrance . People go to the cemeteries that are flowered . and this is also the opportunity of familial gatherings..
Love ❤
Michel
That is a lovely tradition, Michel.
Love to you and Janine!