> Well, yesterday I looked at the news and all the stations were ranting about how crowded the stores were, and how horrible the traffic was downtown, and blah blah blah but I decided to go Christmas shopping with my family despite the hype about the day after thanksgiving. So...we're driving downtown...and the traffic is better than usual! Hmmmmm. And when we got to the shopping area, the parking lots had plenty of spots left! The stores were hardly more crowded than usual. So...I've decided that all the craziness about day after thanksgiving shopping is just made up by news stations because they have nothing else to report. Or they're too lazy to come up with anything else.

Funny you should mention that. My family makes a tradition of doing Christmas shopping as a family the day after Thanksgiving. It now seems that I have rubbed off on Sam's family, as they are now also doing the same thing. :) Since I have done it for so many years, I can tell you for a fact that things were very different this year than they have been in the past. I was also amazed to find a parking spot, as well as be able to walk through the mall without bumping into people. My theory is that it has something to do with the increasing number of people doing online shopping. I, for one, did half of my shopping online. There are still advantages to shopping in the store (no shipping costs, good sales, etc.), but stores are definately losing business unless they are also providing for the online shopping crowd. Who knows, crowded malls may some day be a thing of the past. :)

-Darleen