It is the most wonderful time of the year

It just blows my mind that a week from today is Thanksgiving. This year has flown by. But I am also very excited as it is one of my favorite times. My family and I don’t have too many traditions but last year was the first year we did the Turkey Trot at Cheney High School and we plan to continue it this year.

We also have found the Holy Grail in dinners at Cracker Barrel in Coeur D’Alene, which offers “bake at home” food and cater Thanksgiving meals. So that means we do not have to bake, clean dishes or stress about having good food since Cracker Barrel is always delicious.

The closest tradition we have is that we watch the movie “Elf” at the end of the day, because who doesn’t like a good laugh?

But once Thanksgiving passes by, it is officially Christmas time. This means I can put up my Christmas tree, listen to Christmas music for a straight month and most importantly go Black Friday shopping. It is in fact the most wonderful time of the year.

There is just some kind of spirited fun in Black Friday because it is the official kick-off to the holiday season. I do think it has gotten a little out of hand with how many people have to work on Thanksgiving though because of the shopping. I just hope that the people having to work are the ones volunteering and not being forced to be away from their families.

But I am one of those crazy people that still go out in the wee hours of the morning to go Black Friday shopping, and it is now on the top of my traditions list. I still enjoy my Thanksgiving Day, so I do not go shopping until it is actually Friday.

Ever since freshman year, my mom and I go out shopping together. We stop at Starbucks first because that is essential when you are going shopping at 5 a.m. Then we go to the Spokane Valley with our first stop being at good ol’ Target. We then will adventure out to the mall, Best Buy, other random stores and usually round it off with a late lunch at Twigs.

Even though I have been going shopping for a long time, I recently learned that Black Friday is a lot more fun when I have money to spend, so there is a perk to being an adult. My mom and I usually do not have a specific thing that we rush out to find, we just enjoy the Christmas spirit and the crazy people I guess.

Thanksgiving can be overlooked by Christmas sometimes – I am guilty of that as I have already listened to Christmas music. But I think this time of the year as a whole is just the best time and I always look forward to it even though it means that it is officially cold.

So I hope everyone gearing up for the big holiday can enjoy time with their families and watch some good football games. We have a lot to be thankful for and hopefully we can all appreciate this time of year. I mean it is Thanksgiving after all.

Grace Pohl can be reached at [email protected].