Thanksgiving Shopping

I woke up early this morning and was out the door by 6:20 am.  My plan was to get my Thanksgiving shopping done early and my plan worked beautifully!

I organized my grocery list last night so that everything was listed in the order it is in the store.  I double-checked all my recipes, including the ones that only reside in my head, to make sure I had all the ingredients listed.  I made sure all my cloth shopping bags were in one place so I could take them with me.  It was like I was going on a mission instead of just shopping.  But I think it reduces stress if things are well planned out.

In past years, I have tried doing this shopping trip after work on Tuesday.  The store is full of people doing the exact same thing and there is the additional stress producer of kids screaming for their parent’s attention. They have been stuck in daycare or school all day and just want to have their mom or dad pay attention to them instead of what is on sale.  Not the most pleasant shopping experience.

Last year I decided to wait until Wednesday.  Figured that a lot of people would be working and the store would be pretty quiet around mid-day.  Was I wrong!!  It was full of little old ladies doing their shopping.  Not only doing their shopping but also standing around in small groups talking when I am trying to get by them to get my shopping done.  And, since the store is in Biddeford, which is a French community, they speak in their version of French and look annoyed when I say, “excuse me” in English.  Not that I really care if they speak in French but they shouldn’t glare at me when I don’t try to do the same.  Since I speak one language, English, and sometimes that doesn’t come out so well (see posting on October 6^th – Porky Pig Moments), I don’t even want to attempt to say, “excuse me” in French.  I’m not even going to attempt to write it.

So shopping on Wednesday is out.  After thinking about it, I decided that 6:30 am on Tuesday would be ideal.  The store will have just opened.  No one should be in it except people grabbing small things for work.  People would still be stocking shelves but that wouldn’t be too bad.

As I said, my plan worked beautifully.  I had the store pretty much to myself.  The people who were stocking shelves were very helpful in assisting me in finding some items.  I finished my shopping in less than an hour and was home in one hour and fifteen minutes.  I’ll have to keep that in mind for next year.

Of course, there is a possibility that people will reading this blog will agree that it is a beautiful plan and go to the store at the same time.  But I really doubt many people in my area read this blog (or any other area for that matter).  And I didn’t mention the name of the store and there are two grocery stores in Biddeford.  So I think I am safe.

Tomorrow is prep work and baking pies day!  The Thanksgiving countdown continues….