Black Friday: To Shop or Not to Shop?

Too bad that people can't sleep off their turkey comas after Thanksgiving. Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving in which people are encouraged to shop, shop, shop, drives people out of their comfy homes and into the malls. Black Friday divides the holiday crowd into two--those who are disgusted with the consumer culture and those who are willing to get up at ungodly hours for the best deal.

If you aren't feeling the deals, boycott shopping and participate in "Buy Nothing Day." The name says it all, but Adbusters offers some ideas on how you can let everyone around you know you aren't buying anything. However, "Buy Nothing Day" isn't just political--staying away from the Black Friday madness might help protect your sanity.

Those of you who can't resist the lure of a sale might appreciate a spreadsheet featuring all the Black Friday specials courtesy of our brothers and sisters at LAist.

As for Bostonist, we hover between the two groups and try to surf the Web for good deals instead of elbowing people aside while waiting in the Best Buy line. Slickdeals.net is one place to get started shopping from the sofa. But let us know how Black Friday went if you dared to stay up for a deal.

Image from Adbusters' "Buy Nothing Day" site.