Thanksgiving is not an occasion typically recognised or celebrated widely in Australia. For Americans, Thanksgiving marks the start of the holiday season and is a day typically spent with family — genetic and/or chosen — usually accompanied by an overcooked turkey and butter-heavy sides.
The first Friday that follows is called Black Friday, and it’s evolved to become one of the biggest shopping days of the entire year with bargains dropping at just about every store and across all industries.
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of sales that present themselves in the lead-up to the big day, and we usually tend to cope in one of two ways:
We either go a bit wild and purchase a distressing combination of things we never really needed, justifying each wacky purchase with a half-hearted and somewhat panicked “treat yourself?!”.
Alternatively, we become so overwhelmed by the whole ordeal and eschew the occasion altogether, missing out on some truly great bargains.
But we have a better idea.
How to Hack Black Friday
Thanksgiving isn’t a day of celebration in Australia, but you know what is? Christmas. Christmas is a comin’, people, and if you’re not capitalising on the epic Black Friday sales by purchasing your friends and family gifts at discount prices now, then you’re doing it wrong.
With sales on everything including flights, accommodation, clothing, beauty products, experiences, food and drinks, restaurant vouchers, home decor and technology, you’re basically set to buy everything you intend to gift in the holiday season.
Our advice? Take to pen and paper and write down a list of all the meaningful gifts you’d planned to get for your friends and family. Then, begin to search for those specific presents and purchase if you happen to find a great sale.
Don’t get distracted by shiny things and percentage signs, and don’t worry if you find yourself overwhelmed; you can always try again on Cyber Monday.
This year, instead of making panicked purchases of things you’ll never need or want for yourself, think about the meaningful gifts you could buy for your loved ones (and save some coin in the process).
After a trying year for small, regional, and BIPOC-owned businesses, try also to show up for these brands first and make more supportive purchases.