After Thanksgiving, a majority of people go directly to Christmas, but there are so many holidays between now and then that many do not know, such as “National Play Minecraft day” on Dec. 15. Though for many the most well known of the overlooked traditions is the Black Friday shopping spree the day after Thanksgiving, which is continued into Cyber Mondays deals.

The main appeal of Black Friday and Cyber Monday is that prices on almost everything are slashed and cut so low you can leave with as much as you can hold and run with. For some, Black Friday is heard as Black Eye Friday, because of the pandemonium that happens. With Covid-19, many businesses have adopted the Cyber Mondays buy-from-home mentality to keep social distancing to a maximum.

Unsurprisingly, some of the most popular items to buy on Black Friday or Cyber Monday are technology related products. Some of the best places for buying a game or technology related items is Best Buy, having excellent price drops with their record price drops. Such examples were the AirPods classic being  $120, making them $40 off, and the iPhone SE had the starting price of $200. Other comparable deals are on Amazon or buying from distributors directly, such as Apple.

Some deals weren’t as spectacular as others though, such as some retailers giving minuscule price drops or not at all. 

 “I saved about $100, but the PC was about $1000…not including the monitor, being another $200,” junior Colin Ericson said.  

With Black Friday being the day where buying for friends and family is the number one thing on most of our minds, Giving Tuesday is the most opportune time to give back to the community. Giving Tuesday started with the main goal of giving to homeless shelters through food drives, monetary donations, and volunteering. 

While Giving Tuesday has come and gone for this year, you can still do everything mentioned without waiting for the holiday season to give back to the less fortunate and needy. If waiting for Giving Tuesday next year is needed, it will be on Nov.30th, 2021. Another way for giving back is the Saturdays after is Small Business Saturdays, where it is majorly discouraged to shop at big corporations and buy from smaller businesses.

While the main draw of Black Friday and its equivalent holidays is the great and grand deals, you can get gifts for your loved ones. But sadly with COVID-19 hitting Ventura hard, it is imperative now to be grateful for our loved ones as well as our own good health. And with financial stability being a toss-up for some families it is essential that no matter what, never forget to say thank you.