There are some stories from the business section of the paper showing that Black Friday sales have come to Canada (whereas previously it had been more of a Boxing Day thing, i.e. discounting products only after the holiday rush). While I will probably go downtown this weekend, I am going to avoid the Eaton Centre and pretty much all shopping districts. That's not to say I am completely done with Xmas shopping, but I just can't be bothered, especially when the crowds are so large. I'm also making a semi-conscious effort to reduce the amount of stuff in our lives, moving more to digital delivery as well as "sharing experiences" instead of consumer goods. (That's not to say that the children are completely on board, though it is true they are much less interested in toys than they used to be.)
What is interesting to me is that in addition to Porter Airlines trying to get in on the Black Friday madness (and I may in the end end up booking a flight), quite a few theatres and musical organizations (like the TSO) are having Black Friday sales. I probably won't add any more January concerts to an already very full month, but I was happy to take advantage of a sale for Lynn Nottage's Sweat at Canadian Stage. I've had my eye on this play for a while, and I had held off buying tickets to see if a sale would come along. I didn't see any sales at Mirvish that particularly interested me (at this point I'm probably only interested in catching Come From Away a second time). While there are plays at Crow's Nest that I plan to check out next year, they weren't included in any promotions this weekend, though I'll take one more look tonight.
Anyway, it's an interesting strategy, and I'll try to remember next year that if there is something I want to see in the first quarter of the year, then there will likely be a Black Friday sale covering it. Happy shopping...
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