In recent years, holiday deals haven’t been just on Black Friday. Some stores begin their sales a week in advance, and some are even open on Thanksgiving Day, a major American holiday, which hardly ever happened in the past. Cyber Monday and Small Business Saturday have been created in recent years for different methods of shopping other than large department stores. However, this Black Friday, I decided to have a traditional Black Friday shopping spree at Walmart.

After getting home from Thanksgiving, my mom and I took a trip to Walmart in Seabrook, NH, to scout some Black Friday deals. On the ride there, I heard many Black Friday commercials, which was quite fitting for the mission I was about to undertake.

I arrived at around 9:30 and the parking lot was not much of a problem, much to my surprise. However, there were a few police cars outside the store and two officers stationed at the entrance.

As for the hot items, both the toy and electronics sections had a lot of shoppers. There was a giant unicorn plush for $39.98 that sold out before I could get to the bin and saw it in many carts around the store. There was also a Sharp 55” smart TV selling for $298 that was also found in many carts. While I was there, they were actually restocking the display for the TVs.

Hatchimals were another hot item this year. They are electronic creatures that hatch out of their egg when played with. Only 20 were allowed to be shipped to each store and they sold out after around four and a half hours of the store being open. Since being released around the same time last year, Hatchimals are still a big item with kids according to one employee of Walmart.

I also conducted a short interview with the cashier at my register to see what her Black Friday experience was like. She had arrived for work at 3:00 P.M. and said that from 6:00-8:00 was the busiest time. “We had every register open,” she said, “and cashiers at self check out.”

While I was there, I was shopping for a gift for a fellow cast member in the fall play as well as a few things for myself. With all of the thing I bought, including a Christmas sweater, a baby doll,and a DVD, the total came out to $62.31.

Overall, my Black Friday experience was quite interesting and not as hectic as I thought it would be. Even though I did get some good deals, I think I might want to stick to online shopping. wear my pajamas and enjoy a nice cup of cocoa. I can understand what draws people to Black Friday though, like being able to get things instantly and not having to worry about something going wrong in shipping.

Anyways, I already found a Balichun King-Size fleece blanket for $34.68 and a Joeidomi 51 piece cake decorating set for $9.95 on Amazon, so I best get back to shopping.