Editorial: No deal is more priceless than family on Thanksgiving

There seems to be a solid backlash against stores staying open on Thanksgiving and that is something we’re deeply thankful for this year. Black Friday has become so insanely popular, some retailers have gotten too greedy. The race to get customers in the stores sooner has seemed to all but erase Thanksgiving completely. Many stores, which used to open Black Friday morning, began opening on Thanksgiving night so customers could line up for doorbuster sales.

This year, a growing group of shoppers are making a point not to support businesses that will remain open on Thanksgiving. They’re acknowledging that these employees deserve to be home with their families, too. While retailers such as Kmart, Walmart, JC Penney and Target are planning to cash in big on Thanksgiving day sales, stores such as Costco, T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods, DSW, Nordstrom, Dillard’s, Barnes and Noble, Crate and Barrel, Petco, The Home Depot, Lowe’s, Pier 1 Imports and Gamestop will be closed.

The “Boycott Black Thursday” movement has taken to social media to rally Americans to ditch shopping time for time with family instead. Many of us love to shop and have closets full of stuff we don’t need to prove it, but there is nothing waiting at any store on Thanksgiving that could replace time with my family. Families have already become so disconnected with iPads and iPhones around the dinner table. Now, are we supposed to demolish whatever family time we have left by spending Thanksgiving night in a zombie line to get a discount on more electronic devices to distract us from what really matters?

As children, many of our greatest memories were created around the Thanksgiving turkey. We did not swap out Thanksgiving dinner to wait in line. We were living in the moment and we were thankful for just the people around us and all the blessings we already had. There was no rush to run out and get more.

So this Thanksgiving, let American retailers know we got the memo on what we should be doing Nov. 26. Everyone deserves a night at home to celebrate gratitude. If you’re out shopping on Thanksgiving to get a bargain, there is someone who is paying too high of a price to be there to ring up your deal.