I hate to shop, and I rarely shop in advance. I do not plan ahead. For most of the time my husband and I have been together, we have waited until the weekend before Christmas to go shopping. We would do everything in one sweep, filling shopping cars and spending hundreds of dollars all at once.

This once (almost) bit us in the butt. It was something like Friday evening, Dec. 23, and we had just finished all of our shopping. We checked out, and my husband handed over our debit card. Both of us had been paid that day, and the money had been direct deposited right into our accounts.

The card was declined.

There was a serious moment of panic. I wondered if I’d be able to convince my children that Christmas was really a day or two later than it really was (they were little — I might have been able to pull it off).

The cashier realized what the problem was, however, so we were able to pay for everything. Our debit card had a $500 daily limit, and we were trying to exceed it. The cashier rerung the card as a credit card, and it was approved. Whew. Christmas was saved.

Another time, I was very very pregnant. It must have been before Justin was born. I finally had time to shop without the three little girls with me. My goal was to pick everything out, stash it in layaway, and pick it up within two weeks — just in time for Christmas. If my gifts were in layaway, they would be free from snooping children.

Very pregnant, I went to the layaway counter only to learn they quit accepting layaway sometime in October or November. This, to me, was insane. The store was trying to prevent people from stocking up on items that would be marked down after Christmas, but I didn’t want the after-holiday price. I had just spent HOURS of my life and had done huge amounts of shuffling and juggling to get those hours free of children, and it was all going to be a waste! I cried. The manager took pity on me, and he let me put my stuff in layaway. I just had to agree (and they wrote it on the slip) that I had to pick it up before Christmas. I didn’t have a problem agreeing to that condition since I needed everything for Christmas.

This year, however, has been different.

It started in mid November when I purchased my very first Christmas present. I couldn’t believe that I had done that. It seemed so early!

Then yesterday, Thanksgiving Day, I woke up early and drove to Cadillac to take advantage of some Thanksgiving day sales. I didn’t rush, and I wasn’t worried about not getting anything. I did the bulk of my shopping, and I sat down to Thanksgiving dinner thankful that the majority of my Christmas shopping was done.

There was just one thing that Amanda wanted to buy, and it was a steal. To buy it, I would have to get up early today (Black Friday) and drive to Cadillac again. The store in question wasn’t opening until 8 a.m., so it was much later than most of the other sales. I set my alarm for 6 a.m. and took my time. I let my car warm up. I made coffee. I scraped the ice off my windows and marveled at the sheet of ice on the cement in front of our garage.

Amanda planned to spend her own money. It was an Acer Aspire One, and ABC Warehouse had it on sale for $129. It was also on sale at Menard’s for $119, but it was more than an hour’s drive to the nearest Menard’s. The netbook computer was normally $300. There were a couple of other items I hoped to buy at ABC Warehouse, but the computer was my main goal.

I tried to be strategic. Wal-mart is right next to ABCWarehouse, and Wal-mart promised to match competitor’s Black Friday deals. I went there first to see if there were any Acer’s in stock, but I didn’t have high hopes because Walmart.com said they were available only online.

Shortly before 7:30 a.m., I crossed the parking lot to ABC Warehouse. The store wouldn’t open until 8 a.m., but there was already a line up at the door. I couldn’t believe how far back I was in the line, and I figured I would not be getting one of those computers.

I have never before participated in Black Friday sales, and I never would have imagined I would be standing outside a store waiting for it to open. As I waited, a guy handed out cards for some of the most coveted items, but I didn’t hear him offer the computer.

People kept arriving, and the line was soon blocking the store next door. An employee came out from that store and requested the line snake around. The line continued to grow, and I realized that I was actually at the front part of the line, and I was grateful.

When 8 a.m. arrived, the doors opened, and everyone made their way in pretty orderly, but I could tell those at the end of the line were planning to crash the line. They were making hesitant movements, and I realized why people get so upset. Inside, the first employee I talked to confirmed my worst fears. There were no more computers available. Of the three items I hoped to buy, I was able to nab one.

Within minutes, the line for the checkout was snaking all the way back to the rear of the store. Over by where the computers were, I heard a few employees reprimanded wayward customers. On the other side of the store, customers were much more friendly. I had just resigned myself to wait in the very long line when I learned there was a cash register in the back. I was the second person in line, but the line soon grew. I handed the cashier the correct cash, and I was soon on my way out the door. On my way, I tipped off one of the people in the back of the VERY LONG SLOW line about the second check out in the back. The couple threw me a grateful smile, and I headed back on my way.

Overall, I was pretty impressed with the deals I managed to snag. I would not have been able to buy what I did without the Black Friday and Thanksgiving sales. Most of the items I bought were at least 50 percent off the regular price if not more.

I enjoyed talking to people in the line as we waited to go in. One guy near me was an experienced Black Friday shopper. He apparently did it every year. A woman by me was new at it like I was, and we shared our amazement about it all. Neither one of us were too worried about what we would buy. If we didn’t get the item we were after, it would be OK.

And it was. I was impressed with the prices, and for the most part, I liked how organized the stores were in letting customers know where to find items and when items weren’t available.

One thing I didn’t like — Meijer’s advertised coupons when you purchased certain items, and you did get the coupon, but the coupon isn’t effective until Nov. 29. This wasn’t mentioned in the flyer, and it seems sort of sneaky and underhanded. I’m not too concerned since I shop at Meijer frequently, and I will definitely be using my coupon, but it should have been explained in the flyer rather than after I had paid and was being handed my purchase and coupon.

I’m not sure I will shop Black Friday sales again, but I enjoyed getting a deal. Everything is wrapped and sitting in my living room waiting for our tree. My shopping still isn’t done, but there isn’t much more that I need to buy.

And I think this is a good thing. Last year, I went holiday shopping with a friend (another first). I had a huge list, but I found that I wanted to enjoy the day with my friend more than I wanted to shop. Now, with the bulk of my shopping done, I will be able to finish my shopping and enjoy the day with my friend when we go shopping next weekend. And with shopping out of the way, I hope to enjoy the Christmas season more and worry less.

As for my shopping list:
Steve is pretty much done.
Autumn needs three small gifts.
Amanda needs two small gifts.
Justin needs one gift.
Maxine needs two small gifts.
And I need to buy for my mom and in-laws and my niece, Heather.

Everything else? Done.