Turkey, pumpkin pie and.....shopping?! Before you get your panties in a wad, let me tell you why it's not the worst idea ever.

For the last couple of weeks, I've been bombarded with the opinions of angry Americans who take any and all opportunities to express their disgust over stores being open on Thanksgiving.  They're talking about it on TV, every online publication has some angle on the story, and my Facebook friends have even gone so far as to post a badge on their profile that proclaims that They Will Not Be Shopping on Thanksgiving.  Insert eye roll here.

Their reasons seems noble enough - people should be at home with their families, it's America's holiday, etc. I'm all for family and celebrating, but let me tell you something: this proud American will be shopping on Thanksgiving, and I'm going to tell you why.

Do you have any idea how many businesses are already open on Thanksgiving? Do you know how many people are working, and have worked, on Thanksgiving?  Certainly you don't believe that this is the first year that folks will be reporting to work on Thanksgiving.  Do you realize how impossible it is to shut down this vast country for an entire day?   Contrary to popular belief (I'm looking at you bloggers and passionate Facebook posters), Thanksgiving is not a day about family for many Americans.  In fact, my husband has always had to work on Thanksgiving.  Many of my family members work on Thanksgiving.  Why?  Because the show must go on. Would it be great to have them all together on this holiday?  Sure.  But it's just not going to happen. 

Let's say for a moment that we could do the impossible - have everybody in America at home to celebrate this American holiday with their families.  Oh, but wait, that's assuming everybody who lives in this country is an American that shares the same values and you and I and want to stay at home. I want us to refer back to our history books for a minute.  Do you remember why this country was founded?  Do you know the tounge-in-cheek nickname our country has?  The melting pot.  Not every person in this country is American, and not every person in this country wants to celebrate this American holiday. 

But this is OUR holiday!  It's anti-American not to celebrate Thanksgiving?  I see....and it's so American to sit around stuffing yourself and watching TV, right?  Thanksgiving has turned into a day to sit around and be glutenous, with a side of reflecting on why you're thankful. Shouldn't you be thankful everyday anyway? I suppose I'd rather have it turn into that, than say, Mexico's holiday.  Cinco de Mayo has almost no other identification other than a day to drink one's self silly, pretending to be Latino for a day (news flash: drinking Corona and eating tacos on May 5th doesn't make you Latino). Every bar in Mexico is open on "their" day, why can't we shop on "ours"??   So much for the importance of holidays dedicated to specific countries.

How many of you have a crazy relative? Maybe two crazy relatives?  Or maybe you don't have family in town; maybe you can't afford to be with your family.  Do you think these people relish the idea of spending an entire day (consuming more calories than one needs in a week) with A. crazy relatives or B. alone?  Do you think that maybe, just maybe, these folks welcome a distraction, or a reason to "reluctantly" skip the family distractions?  Or maybe folks want to take the chance at extra pay? 

I saw a post tonight that made me shake my head.  Somebody commented on an anti-shopping blog, stating her son was a Target employee, and would be fired if he didn't work on Thanksgiving, and concluded that Target is a horrible company.  Wait, so you mean that if a business is operating and an employee fails to show up at work as scheduled, they get fired?!  Blasphemy!!!  Are you at all familiar with the concept of accountability?!  Target isn't a bad company, you're a bad mother! Yes, your son will be fired if he doesn't show up at work.  This is as true for Thanksgiving as it is any other day that Target is open.  I know this is going to sound harsh, but your son was not forced to work at Target  It is his choice to go to work on Thanksgiving or not; in fact, it's all of our choices to go to work on any day.  We may not like the consequence if we don't go in (hint: you'll probably lose your job), but you always have a choice.  If you work for a company that operates on Thanksgiving, and this upsets you, do something about it.  But don't for a second think anybody is "making" you do something.  Remember, you always have a choice.  It's a free country, remember? Free to be open for business, free to choose to report to work at said business.  Free to choose not to report.

Most of you bloggers and anti-Thanksgiving shoppers are operating under false assumptions. Not every other business in this country was closed on Thanksgiving before this year. Not everybody wants to be at home with their families, not everybody has a family to be with, hell, not everybody even observes this holiday!  Some people might even be ok with, maybe even welcome, this chance to work.

The stores are only open because people are going to them and spending money.  I don't care how family-friendly a retail store is, they're for-profit.  This means they want, and need, to make money to survive.  Go back to our mini history lesson.  Didn't those original pilgrims want to be prosperous?  What's so different about this?

Hm, so we've already concluded that this country is a melting pot of all different folks from all kinds of backgrounds, is built on the principle of freedom, and was also founded by a desire to be prosperous.  Dare I say it: it makes more sense for stores to be open on Thanksgiving than not to be!  I'm kidding.  Well, sort of kidding.

Let me clarify - I am American.  I do celebrate Thanksgiving, I do have a family; my husband is one of those non-retail workers punching the time clock on Thanksgiving.   I'm also very much into family traditions, and I've made some of the best memories with my family as we shop together on Black Friday.  It's not just about getting the best deal.  It's not about being greedy.  It's about being so excited to GIVE.  It's not about foregoing the thankful thoughts to focus on what I don't have, not at all.  Could we wait until Friday to shop?  Absolutely.  But do I really love having something fun to do after the turkey and thankful thoughts are done, something that doesn't involve seeing who can resist the Triptophan coma the longest?  You bet. 

So yes, I'll be shopping on Thanksgiving.  I'll be thankful that there are cheerful associates who have honored their commitment to their employer by showing up for a shift they may or may not be excited to have.  Also, I'll definitely be out before the sun comes up on Black Friday!  I'll be out with some of the most important people in my life, laughing and having a great time.  We'll have stories to tell about each gift we get, which will be almost more important than the gift itself. Some of my best holiday memories were made on Black Friday, because we're genuinely having a great time kicking off the magical holiday season. My shopping crew even ordered matching "Black Friday Shopping Crew" T-shirts this year.  I know that will really get you haters going.

Go ahead, call me Anti-American.  Chastise me for feeding into the consumerism "bullshit" that has now taken over Thanksgiving. That's ok, stay home, I'm not going to take your thoughts personally.  Besides, if you stay home, that's one less shopper out there in the stores snatching up my deals!