Hellobee Boards

@Ree723: If you don't make a lot of money, I think every little extra bit is especially helpful.

I make a concerted effort to not shop anywhere on most national holidays and Easter Sunday.

I think readers of this thread might enjoy Peggy Noonan's column in the WSJ yesterday. You'll have to go through Google News to read it for free, but it's worth the extra step: Search "Stay Home, America" at news.google.com. Happy Thanksgiving!

@pui: I'm in canada and retail stores are open thanksgiving, usually just shorter hours.

I personally don't normally shop on holidays. I've worked in businesses that I've had to work on holidays.

I have mixed feelings about stores being open. Yes it does suck having to work a holiday when you want to be home with family. But not everyone celebrates the holidays, so they can't do anything on theses days? I know places I've worked in the past if people didn't celebrate a holiday they would usually volunteer to work so those who wanted it off could have it.

@sorrycharlie: demand determines supply, not vice versa.

@MamaMoose: We will have to agree to disagree. I live in a state that doesn't allow stores - target, walmart, toys r us etc - to be open on thanksgiving. They certainly still make sales goals and are doing fine.

@MamaMoose: ITA. Everyone is up in arms about retail employees working but where's the line? I've worked on plenty of holidays but because I don't work retail apparently it doesn't matter. Lots of people crying foul about shopping will go see movies. Or maybe they'll take public transportation. Should the subway shut down? Should airports be open? We don't HAVE to travel on a holiday. Bus stations? Train stations? I just don't get this whole outcry. Sure, shopping isn't necessary on a holiday, but a lot of things we do on holidays aren't really necessary.

@MamaMoose: at my husbands store sales numbers have NOT increased over the past three years (when they began opening earlier and earlier) on thanksgiving/Black Friday weekend. So in our case there is supply, but little to no demand. I'll be interested to hear this years numbers to see if the trend continues.

@cmomma17: They may not have gone up but I think people open earlier and earlier because they have to stay open so as not to lose sales to the other stores that are open. So hypothetically if no stores opened the bottom line would be the same but that's not the case at least not where I am.

@MamaMoose: true!!

@MrsSCB: this!!!! It seems people feel it so inhumane for retail workers to spend Thanksgiving at work. They are getting paid holiday pay. There are so many people that work the holidays in their various fields of work. I've worked the last 3 Thanksgivings, and countless other holidays, but don't complain because it's the nature of the job I chose to work (and I get no holiday pay).

@pui: I think it's actually different across the country. I used to live in Ontario and pretty much everything is closed on a national holiday. We recently moved out west and it seems like everything is open on stat holidays (malls, restaurants, grocery stores, etc.)! The one exception may be Christmas.