It's Thanksgiving in the US but many Americans are eating dinner while secretly planning their Black Friday strategy for tomorrow. It's a day that people open their wallets to get the "best deals" ahead of Christmas but the day itself can be pretty intense and I speak from experience. 

For me, it was a day my mom, sisters, and I would go shopping together to kick off the holiday season. It was fun, but as the years went on and we began to have families of our own it became a day of shopping war. Whether we had to find the latest limited toy of the season because it was the ONLY thing one of our kids asked for or a TV that our husband had been eyeing and we were trying to save money... it became more than just being a leisure trip of fun and making memories, it was now business. 

For the last few years, we went shopping separately to ensure we kept our eye on the prize and found what we needed, but the fun was missing. So, this year, I am forfeiting Black Friday. I am staying home with my family, Facetiming with the ones not so near and simply enjoying being the company. We are doing this to save money, the headache and reset. 

We have found especially over the last couple of years we do not need things... we need each other. It sounds like a cliche' Christmas song but it is true. After moving house five times in 20 months, we have off-loaded and donated many, many items to make the moves easier and my four-year old not once has remembered or retold a story about a toy. He talks about things we did together or what we saw. So instead, we will spend our extra hard-earned money on experiences and not at the store. 

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy shopping especially with my sisters and Mom, but we will save that for a day when it does not require a military style strategic plan to get in and get out. 

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends! Wishing you and yours a special day...together.