to feel enormously irritated by 'black friday'

[holdyourown]

I mean what even is it. Yet more US imported nonsense imo

I can't afford indi shop prices. I will take my chances in Asda

Asda? Another one not exactly struggling!

I don't really get Black Friday because most stores don't tell you what items are going to be on offer, or what the discounts are going to be, so you're just queuing up in the hope of 'stuff'.

I admit; it's clever. Give the first few people amazing deals on shit tellies that would never shift anyway, then the other 100 schmucks through the door will feel the need to buy something at not such a great price because hey, they queued up so they've got to get something so that their day off wasn't such a big waste.

I am poor as hell this year. I can barely afford to buy Xmas presents, but I would never bother fighting people in a store for a few quid off. My loved ones will just have to enjoy their cheapo presents.

If Aldi had joined in, MN would have been deserted today

Now if I'm being completely honest, you might possibly have found me in the queue with the other Aldi hoors

Where the police have had to be called, especially for midnight offers, then the stores should have to pay some of the cost.

Trick or treating didn't originate in the US. In Scotland you have guising. Same except you're meant to do a wee song or poem not just demand sweeties.

I actually tried googling Black Friday - what is it? Got no answers until Wikipedia came to my aid. I had thought it must be a Friday 13th but knew that was wrong and any way my first born arrived on a Friday 13th so I usually insist that it is a lucky day. Why anyway is it Black? Because the stores will all be in the black afterwards? or maybe because they have queues (sorry, lines) gong round the corner (sorry, block) from 5am?

For a hilarious take on all this, you could google "Rev Billy and the Stop Shopping Gospel Choir".

(Sorry I don't know how to "link").

And don't forget, small kids do often get more fun playing with the cardboard boxes than with the contents!

My mistake - the Stop Shopping Gospel Choir movie is called 'What would Jesus buy?" It's on YouTube.

First few minutes are a bit preachy but it gets better.

If I could actually get on any of the websites I would be very happy with the sales I am sure.

I don't think rioting over TVs is fucking cool.

I do think that saying we don't want that American shite over hear is pretty snobby though.

Or over here

And not everyone who bought something in the Black Friday sales had a fight.

I didn't.

I didn't. And I love my Marmite mugs and I'm rather pleased with everything else. i didn't even buy a crap telly I didn't really need. We'll stick with the 8yo LCD that we already have.

And I am able to pay full price for things. I don't, if I can help it, though.

I was very naughty and spent £35 on 100ml jimmy choo eue de parfum. Reduced from £90. Bargain but still expensive.

The scenes on the TV were hideous and left a real unsettling feeling as you know that this is exactly how virtually all humans would react if there was any shortages of food or civil unrest.

Halloween as others have said wasn't invented by the U.S. but the commercialism surrounding it was, same as the bloody coca cola lorry that now visits towns all over the UK.

I got my bargain in amazon..no question. I worked all day so I've no idea how most people managed to queue all day .

Halloween is not American, but I'd say that the enormity of the celebration is a new thing in the UK. I trick or treated growing up, went to a couple of fancy dress parties as an adult etc. but when I moved to America ten years ago, I quickly gathered that Halloween was a huge deal. As an outsider, I'd say that it almost ranks alongside Christmas as a holiday, and that level of celebration is certainly new to the UK.

As for Black Friday, I hate it. You just know some violent shit will go down at Walmart over a wide-screen telly.

There's nothing wrong with it in theory, and I'm sure the vast majority of shoppers behave well. It's just the minority that fight over crap tvs, push people over, abuse retail staff and divert police from more important work. They're irritating as hell. And I agree with the poster above. I've been very poor as well - we do not need as much 'stuff' as we are lead to believe. No one needs a tv or ipad that badly.