If I would have known that the last thanksgiving dinner I would have for a while was when I was 15, I think I would have stuffed my face with those mashed potatoes a little longer.

For the past 4 years, thanksgiving has gone from the dinner table to waiting in line outside of Target to get started on all those Christmas shopping. Black Friday is one of the most important days to any and all retail stores in the United States. It’s the day that millions of people would rather wait in line and save dollars on merchandise than sit around the dinner table, and I wouldn’t blame them because the deals are really good. This is the time that stores love to get rid of as much merchandise as they can to help their business. It is the time that not just one thing is on sale, but everything!

Thanksgiving is like the middle child of the fall season, Halloween gets our attention as we get all dressed up be whoever we want; mermaid, vampire, doctor, then we have the excitement of Christmas...trees, gifts, and candy canes. There is not much hype when it comes to Thanksgiving until the week of but even then you're not going to find many people counting down the days till Thanksgiving. If we are adding Black Friday to this mix, it's the cute little puppy that takes the attention from Thanksgiving.

Black Friday originally started the day after Thanksgiving, as midnight rolled in and so did families as they got ready to start shopping at Walmart. Yet nowadays stores are taking their advantage with this time of the year and making it huge.Opening thanksgiving night and now this year, this afternoon.

For those who have gone through a Black Friday either being the shopper or the employee, you know the craziness and the intensity of snagging the good deals and keeping cool. This year, I get to be both people.

As an employee gearing up for Black Friday, the weeks prior to the day means long shifts and tons of work. Moving displays and adding more product on the sales floor so it's easier for the customers to grab and go. Seeing your boss running around and speaking fast as the adrenaline is getting to them.

As a shopper, the weeks prior means looking through the ads, figuring out which stores have the better deals, and making a timeline of which store to go to first. And NOT wasting any money that could be used for these two days. One thing to take advantage of is when you have more than one family going to the stores with you.... One grabs the items, other waits in line.#Teamwork

One very helpful tip to anyone having their first Black Friday shopping; Know what you're getting before you go in. Grab the newspaper and look at the ads, circle what you want, find out what time the store opens and be the first in line.

One very helpful tip to any employee having their first Black Friday; Don't get in the way of the customers. A presence of an employee is crucial, help when need be.