Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays.

Friday, November 26, 1999

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays.

Turkey, pumpkin pie and stuffing – you just don’t get much better than that as far as I am concerned.

My family doesn’t get together as much as they used to. My brother and I both have busy careers and my parents are adjusting quite well to having adult children.

So, when we can manage to get together for the holiday, it is a special occasion for all of us.

Last year, Turkey Day was at my house, so I got to cook the traditional meal. This year, I get a vacation.

After dinner with my husband’s family, I am going to do the only thing I like better than eating pumpkin pie – shopping.

I have heard from many people that the day after Thanksgiving is traditionally one of the biggest shopping days of the year. I am usually working, so I have never really had the chance to take part in the annual march to the stores.

But this year, I am ready.

By the time you read this, I will probably be busy pawing through piles of clothes at the outlet mall or peering anxiously at sale signs in the regular mall. I plan to hit both.

My husband is going, too, although he is not quite as excited as I am about taking part in the other Thanksgiving tradition. He is already amassing reading material to occupy his time as I happily hunt my bargains.

This is another unusual holiday season in another way, too. I am actually almost done with my Christmas shopping.

I really don’t know how it happened. I guess I just got lucky this year. Every time I turned around, "just the right thing" would pop up on the television screen or be right next to a 50 percent off sign.

Although I have always had a relatively easy time finding just the right gift, this year has been particularly scary.

My normally paranoid anyway mind is already racing through the possibilities of why God is making sure that I have my shopping done early.

Although, I suppose the reason for that blessing does not have to be negative.

So, there are probably some of you out there who are wondering why, if I have all my shopping done, am I planning to take part in the sea of after-Thanksgiving shoppers.

The answer is simple really. It is the same reason that men put on vests and funny hats and head out to the woods each year to try to bag the biggest buck.

Part of the thrill of shopping is capturing the biggest sale – that designer sweater at 50 percent off, for example, or the last Furby playset.

Women get the same adrenaline rush when they see just the purse they want in someone else’s hand.

Hopefully, I won’t get too carried away this weekend. Maybe I will even have a trophy or two when I get back.

Renee Carey is the managing editor of The Ironton Tribune.