Black Friday. It's been around for decades. Then there's Cyber Monday, which came with the advent of the Internet and online shopping. More recently, Small Business Saturday has been added to show some love to your neighborhood mom-and-pop shops.
And now we have what's being called "Gray Thursday." Or as it was known up until a few years ago, Thanksgiving. With all these days of Christmas shopping and big discounts and doorstoppers and all that, do we really need to co-opt Thanksgiving, too?
The last few years, several major retailers have been opening earlier than ever for Black Friday. It started with openings at around 4:00 or 5:00 AM on Friday to "beat the rush." From there, it became midnight openings. The singular scent of cash filling their nostrils, big retailers kept pushing their openings back earlier and earlier. Like 10:00 PM on Thanksgiving night.
And then 8:00 PM.
And then 6:00 PM.
We've done the math, and at the rate they keep moving back these times, Thanksgiving will be erased by 2017. Gray Thursday will have taken over, opening at midnight the night before Thanksgiving.
Many of the major retail chains are opening early on Thanksgiving night once again. But we're not going to talk about them. We'd rather tell you about the stores that refuse to bow to the Black Friday pressure, the stores that know some things are of greater value than money. The stores that are outright saying no, even though they will very literally pay a steep price for it.
Petitions and letter-writing and Facebook Groups are great, and we're not knocking them. But there is no louder voice than the almighty dollar. If you want Thanksgiving to remain Thanksgiving, support these businesses that won't open on Thanksgiving. Do your Christmas shopping with them. Don't force the employees of those stores to miss their Thanksgivings because you have to go shopping. And whatever you do, stay away from those insane crowds at the stores where people are getting into fist fights, being trampled, and even dying just to get their hands on discounted stuff.
Rather than the usual places you might go to shop for clothes, electronics, toys, etc., we recommend shopping at these stores instead.
| A.C. Moore | DSW | PetSmart |
| AT&T Wireless | GameStop | Pier 1 |
| American Girl | Hobby Lobby | REI |
| Barnes & Noble | HomeGoods | Saks Fifth Avenue |
| Bed Bath & Beyond | Home Depot | Sam's Club |
| BJ's Wholesale | Jo-Ann Fabrics | Sierra Trading Post |
| Bloomingdale's | Lowes | TJ Maxx |
| Burlington Coat Factory | Marshall's | Talbot's |
| Chico's | Men's Wearhouse | Ten Thousand Villages |
| Costco | Neiman Marcus | Trader Joe's |
| Crate & Barrel | Nordstrom | World Market |
| Dillard's | Petco |
We can't list every store in the world, so if you don't see your favorite on this list, check with your local brick & mortar to confirm its opening time.
