Favorite Dad Black Friday Traditions
Hey Dad,
I’m always looking for some new tradition to do on Black Friday (the day after thanksgiving)? My wife does the traditional door buster shopping while I hold down the fort and we meet for lunch as some loud restaurant. In the past we’ve done the official lighting of the Word’s Largest Christmas tree in Indianapolis and we’ve even toyed with the idea of trying to take in a family friendly movie.
As a kid we used to watch some holiday TV special like the Sound of Music or the Wizard of OZ while we ate left over turkey sandwiches.
So what do you do as a family on Black Friday?!
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1. Make sure I have the day off. Take a vacation day if needed.
2. Go to a Christmas tree farm and “kill” (cut down) our tree.
3. Family watches me fight the tree to get it in to the stand, through the door and in to the house.
4. Decorate the tree
Our day after Thanksgiving tradition is to cut down a Christmas tree in morning and decorate it at night. While we are decorating, we also have “junk food” night for dinner. Each kid gets to pick one junk food menu item. This year we are having mini corn dogs, pizza rolls, bread sticks, potato skins and creme puffs.
Our oldest daughter (now 14) had an opportunity to go out with her friends for a paint-ball game. She immediately said “Nope. Sorry. It’s junk food night and decorating the tree!”. Got to love that!!!
The boys and I will work very diligently on providing food for our family. aka HUNTING!
While Mel and the girls work faithfully at keeping the home. aka SHOPPING!!!!
Thanks again Todd and tuckloads of blessings to the Wilson gang!!
The day after Thanksgiving is always about the turkey sandwich at lunch. Our tradition has become how we prepare that sandwich with odd toppings like cranberry sauce and a skillet fried thin and crispy pancake of stuffing to add an extra kick and warmth inside the sandwich.
For the past 3 years we’ve had a Black Friday Game Day. We invite a bunch of people over, have a potluck, and play lots of games.
For many years, all the men and boys (potty trained and up) leave immediately after Thanksgiving lunch to head to the woods to deer hunt. The women (and one non-hunting male in the family) rest and graze on leftovers for the remainder of the day. Nanny usually stays the night with my daughter and me. We just relax on Black Friday and watch old movies or sew.
For the last 5 years my three oldest children, my dad and me head to the lake down town to fish which is stocked the Tuesday before Thankgiving with trout each year. Then on the way home we stop at In and Out burger’s for lunch. Black Friday fishing! Love it! Then we hang out play board games and watch movies with the rest of the family. We enjoy the family God has given us.
For the past few years I have taken the boys and have gone camping in the desert.
Decorate for Christmas!
This was our 10th anniversary of the Turkey Bowl. We have a flag/tackle football game in our back yard. The faces change (get older etc.) every year but there is always an open invitation to you and your family to join us at 1PM on Black Friday if you are ever traveling in Northeast PA over the Thanksgiving weekend. The desserts are always awesome and taste great after a hard fought game.
As d’dad of four girls, I have not had the pleasure of taking them hunting on Black Friday, that task is reserved for their mother who has trained them well. I choose to support her by keeping the two younger girls occupied at home while she takes the older two shopping for bargains. It works well.
My girls and I woke up at 3:50 am to tackle our third year of Black Friday Shopping. The family usually has some type of shopping list, and it’s my job to execute the acquisition ‘strategy’. As my girls said more than once this year, it’s the perfect shopping day for men: full off aggression, speed, strategy, and opportunities to conquer. We always plan a good late big breakfast break. This year my wife met us there with our youngest, and we went back for more. They love it, and I love sharing the day with them. This year we set a record: 14 hours of Dad and Daughter time in their element with a Dad twist.