Black Friday and Other Shopping Ideas

We got our newspaper on Thanksgiving and thought we might try doing a little Black Friday shopping. Early in the morning seemed exciting but after a while of searching the ads and searching the internet we found that we could stay in bed, get our sleep and find just as good of deals on line. then after a good breakfast we would head out and try a little shopping.  About 9 AM we left and made it to one store. It was Kohl's and I like Kohl's.  Apparently a lot of people like Kohl's. There were good deals and a lot of nice items we would like but in the end the line to pay for items caused us to leave. The line literally went 3/4 of the way  around the store. It was moving fast but we decided to wait until another day. So we left and did a couple of errands and came back home.  
It seems to me alot of people are going to be cutting back on Christmas. Cutting back on the amount of  money spent. Perhaps that is why searching for the best deals and best prices causes such great crowds. Though I know alot of people do love to shop in the hustle and bustle also.
There are other ways of cutting back on the amount of money one spends at Christmas.
Family Crafts http://familycrafts.about.com/od/giftstomake/tp/HomeMadeGiftIdeas.htm has
some neat ideas for homemade gifts. 100 ideas.  I remember when I was a young girl ( along time ago) in school we usually always  had a day where we made gifts for our parents.  As a homeschooling mom I hope to come up with some creative ideas this year of gifts that can be made by our family and given to friends. Sometimes it's the homemade gifts that come from the heart that mean the most. I know for me I find it very hard to throw away special gifts, cards and pictures my son has made.
Another place to find ideas to  help save on Christmas and to bring the true meaning of Christmas is an article found on Faith and Family's blog. The blog Simply Joyous tells of many ways to bring simplicity to Christmas and cut back on the spending. http://wbx.me/l/?u=http://faithandfamilylive.com/.
Focusing on what Christmas is truly about this year, the birth of our Savior, is most important and is what will last through eternity, not the stuff we buy at Kohl's or any other great store.