Black Friday - A Chance For Kindness, Greed

Gone are the days of parents camping out for their little ones.

Ah, tis the season!  This is Thanksgiving week, and so many things happen this wonderful week. You can go see your local high school play football on Thanksgiving, enjoy time with friends and family watching the parade and eating turkey and all its trimmings, and if you are like me, you plan your attack for the day after... Black Friday.  Yes I am one of "those" who packs her car with blankets and chairs and camps out after the turkey has been consumed, sometimes missing desert, or taking it to go so I can get my spot in line just to get the big deals!  It all started about 17 years ago when my firstborn was talking about Santa, and what he would bring on Christmas morning. Tickle Me Elmo, Barbies and more, but how did I pay for all she …

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Strictly Business

Black Friday and Small Business Saturday Sales – Updated!

We’ve added in some suggestions from Wednesday, but like that Thanksgiving turkey, we’re going in for seconds.

Patch wants to give small businesses a chance to post their hours and locations for Small Business Saturday in one place so local shoppers can find you. Just add your business name, address, hours, and telephone number in the comments below — and note some of the products you have. And hey, the deal totally applies to Black Friday as well! So don’t be shy. If you have a listing on the South Kingstown and Narragansett Patch Places Directory, you can also add that link to your comment so readers can easily find other info about your business. Don't have a listing? E-mail stephen.greenwell@patch.com and we'll set up a free listing for you. As I get comments and e-mails with deals, I’ll add them in to this article. So far: For more of Business…

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Strictly Business

Post Your Black Friday, Small Business Saturday Deals Here

Patch is looking for business owners to tell our readers where they can support small business.

Patch wants to give small businesses a chance to post their hours and locations for Small Business Saturday in one place so local shoppers can find you. Just add your business name, address, hours, and telephone number in the comments below — and note some of the products you have. And hey, the deal totally applies to Black Friday as well! So don’t be shy. If you have a listing on the South Kingstown and Narragansett Patch Places Directory, you can also add that link to your comment so readers can easily find other info about your business. Don't have a listing? E-mail stephen.greenwell@patch.com and we'll set up a free listing for you. As I get comments and e-mails with deals, I’ll add them in to this article. So far: For more of Business…

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FedEx Giving Away Gift Cards for Small Business Saturday

$25 'Shop-Small' American Express Gift Cards will be given away to 40,000 people via Facebook.

For a second year, FedEx Corp. has committed to giving away $25 “Shop-Small American Express Gift Cards” through Facebook to 40,000. The Commercial Appeal reported that the promotion is to encourage consumers to support local, small independent businesses and is in honor of Small Business Saturday, Nov. 24. "America's small businesses are a unique and vibrant part of their local communities and a critical component to the broader health of our economy," T. Michael Glenn, executive vice president of Market Development at FedEx told the Commercial Appeal. "With our support of Small Business Saturday, we're helping raise awareness for the importance of shopping small while empowering 40,000 consumers to get engaged in their own cities and …

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Small Successes

Foot traffic and sales were reported to be brisk in downtown Wakefield on Small Business Saturday.

With the weather in the mid-60's and musicians playing outside the Alternative Foods Co-op, downtown Wakefield felt more like a summer festival on Saturday than the end of November. A steady stream of shoppers were out and about on Main St., comfortably strolling in the sun and scooting in and out of the stores. “It's been crazy!” said the staff at Janeeska. “We've been very busy all day.” The store was having a inventory wide 30 percent off with 20 percent off gift card sale, which undoubtedly helped pull in the shoppers but the general concensus was that the advertising campaign by American Express helped to put Small Business Saturday in the minds of consumers focused on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Lisa Branson, the owner of …

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Shop Local for Small Business Saturday, Today!

Feed back some dollars into your local economy.

Thanks to the Narragansett Chamber of Commerce, Narragansett Bikes and others, we have a partial list of sales. Feel free to add your own! Here are some of the sales about town today: All of the above-mentioned stores are located in the Pier Marketplace. These are just a portion of the promotions - please go to your favorite local store and see what they are offering!  Remember:  Shop Local South County on Small Business Saturday! Release courtesy of Deb Kelso of the Narragansett Chamber of Commerce, Stacey Bodziony of NBX Bikes and Marie Younkin-Waldman. Looking for other area sales? Check out South Kingstown Patch, North Kingstown Patch and East Greenwich Patch.

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Post Your Small Business Saturday Hours Here

South Kingstown Patch is looking for business owners to tell our readers where they can support small business.

Patch wants to give small businesses in South Kingstown a chance to post their hours and locations for Small Business Saturday in one place so local shoppers can find you. Just add your business name, address, hours, and telephone number in the comments below — and note some of the products you have. If you have a listing on the South Kingstown Patch Places Directory, you can also add that link to your comment so readers can easily find other info about your business.Don't have a listing? E-mail Editor Carl Critz at carl.critz@patch.com and we'll set up a free listing for you.

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Parents Talk Q+A

Is Black Friday Making You See Red This Holiday Season?

Trying to balance the “I want” with the “what we have/don’t have” to spend this year?

Even before Halloween night arrived, it was beginning to look a lot like Christmas in the stores and on TV. As we’ve gotten closer to Thanksgiving, retailers have been pumping the airways full of enticing ads for everything (they say) you “really want,” “must have,” or “must give” for the holidays. If your kids are anything like some of ours, they are already asking (okay, begging and pleading) for “it” all. You can’t blame them as the ads make things seem sooo affordable at 30%, 50%, and even 60% off the original retail price, how could mom and dad not buy it?! Well in the real world, mom and dad are trying very hard to buy the food, electricity, gas, one more month of residency (i.e. pay the rent or mortgage) and don’t forget that all …

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