Part of this is policy-based (i.e. it’s for the most part illegal to open on Sundays in France), but it’s also consumer driven. If we don’t go, they won’t open. I think it’s important not to forget just how much agency we have.

There’s nothing preventing stores from offering good deals starting at a more humane hour, e.g. 9am. By going early, we’re telling store owners this is ok behavior. When will it stop? Why not just open on Thanksgiving day, too?

If I were to participate in the 4am (or 1am here) madness, that would suggest that I condone stores making folks (parents, etc.) get up at g-d awful hours to leave their families. In some cases, this means people can’t leave to go visit family for the holiday. I don’t condone this treatment of workers or disrespect for families, so I don’t go, and likewise try not to do business on Sundays.

I’m on a budget, too, but I find that there are other ways I can trim my holiday bills, e.g. giving less gifts, homemade ones, gifts of time, etc.

“Blessing” our friends and families on Dec 25th doesn’t have to mean buying cheap goods, which are likely cheap because they are made in sweatshops or in places with poor human/workers’ rights and environmental standards. This seems blatantly antithetical to Christian values.

I just found your blog through mothering.com and I am inspired! I will be interested to read more.

I do participate in Buy Nothing Day, because getting up so early and standing in the cold with crowds doesn’t appeal to me at all. So I try to create a list of gift items for my family that are both practical and within my budget and buy them in early December.

I recently read about The Advent Conspiracy, where people try to limit the amount they spend on Christmas presents so they can give additional money to charity. They also work to create “relational” gifts for each other, such as knitting a scarf for your sister, etc. I’ve been giving this a lot of thought, and while I don’t knit, I think we’ll plan to increase our charitable donations this year and lower the amount we spend on presents.

Here’s why I enjoyed shopping this morning:
- I have a limited budget and, as a homemaker, I try to stretch my dollars. Getting up early was a small sacrifice to make for great deals.
- I made a list, planned ahead, and stuck to my choices for Christmas presents. The gifts I bought were practical and will bless my loved ones on December 25!
- There was a real communal spirit of fun and camaraderie in shops this morning. From driving in the dark with my dad (my go-to guy for early rising adventures) to helping other shoppers find the right styles and sizes, I didn’t run into one angsty, aggressive or competitive person.

I love your site, and your Live Lightly tour, too. Your ideas have definitely influenced my thinking in the past several months. But I suppose I’m tired with people complaining about all the “crazy” early morning shoppers. I wasn’t crazy at all and I loved making a new holiday memory with just me and my dad.

I am amazed by the radio ads for the stores opening at midnight, or 4 am, or 5 am today. What is the point of getting up in the middle of the night to shop? Are they going to rnu out of things for people to buy? Bizarre.