People have all sorts of traditions for Thanksgiving weekend.
Many include a special meal with family or friends; perhaps football, followed by shopping.
Some retailers have moved up the start of Black Friday – to Thursday afternoon, trying to entice buyers with door buster sales.
I caught up with Darrell Grayson at the Shoppes of Grand Avenue. He says he doesn’t plan on participating in any Thursday shopping madness. In fact, he has to work on Thanksgiving until late afternoon; then he plans on being with his family.
“Shopping is secondary, family is number one. I really push Thanksgiving. Be with your family and look out for the less fortunate ones. If someone doesn’t have anything, invite someone to your house and be a blessing to them,” Grayson says.
Grayson says he knows many people who are less fortunate than him. So every year, he invites homeless people into his house for Thanksgiving. Grayson says his attitude toward the holiday has changed from when he was young.
“As I’ve become older, I know what the meaning of Thanksgiving is than when I was a little child. It’s more than just the turkey and the ham, it’s all about being thankful,” Grayson says.
Another person who doesn’t plan to shop on Thursday is Teresa Bittner of St. Francis. “Not at all. I’m going to spend it with my family. I have a huge family and we plan on getting together every year, we don’t go shopping,” Bittner says.
Bittner comes from a family of eight kids and says about 30 people will gather at her house for Thanksgiving. She says while shopping on Thanksgiving Day is off-limits, her family has no problem getting up early to hit the stores on Black Friday. After everyone’s feet are sore, they spend the rest of the weekend decorating for Christmas.
“My husband will be starting Wednesday because he has off work and then I’ll help him. I have off Thursday and Friday so we’ll finish it up all weekend. We do a lot of Christmas decorations. And then Sunday night we sit and relax and look at our tree, hang out and watch football,” Bittner says.
One person who doesn’t plan on shopping on either Thursday or Friday is Daniel Kleinhans of Shorewood.
“I’ve got some friends and family coming into town and I’m going to spend time with them instead. I’m not in a huge rush to get my Christmas shopping done so, the TVs and all the other deals will still be there. They’re not going anywhere,” Kleinhans says.
Kleinhans says one Thanksgiving tradition that’s changed for him is the location of the meal. When he was little, his family would gather at his grandmother’s house. Now, he plays host.
