Enjoy Thanksgiving before holiday gifting

It wasn’t long after everyone had packed away their Halloween costumes that Christmas jingles started playing on the radio. Holiday season seems to be in full swing.

And with Black Friday right around the corner, now looks like the prime time to start stocking up on the gifts you’ll give to all your friends and family during the upcoming months. The end of November signals the start of the winter bargain hunt.

The shopping season typically begins the day after Thanksgiving, but this year, many retailers are opening their doors on Thanksgiving itself, such as Best Buy, Target and J.C. Penney. Several stores, such as Costco, have already begun their extended holiday hours.

Retailers hungry for sales will be pushing harder and harder to draw customers in early. Millennials like us, according to a survey by financial services company Bankrate, Inc., are more likely than any other age group to shop on Black Friday and Cyber Monday this year.

While good deals may be tempting, don’t set your sights so far ahead that you neglect the holiday coming up in just one week.

It’s true that the pilgrims weren’t quite as nice to the Native Americans as the illustrated storybooks we read in elementary school would have us believe. Ransacking the shelves on Black Friday may actually be a fairly appropriate way of honoring their interactions.

But the spirit of Thanksgiving goes beyond history and has come to represent togetherness and generosity that participation in a consumerist frenzy makes it easy to forget.

UM students are fortunate enough have an entire week off to spend however they please. Whether you’re going home to visit your family or catching up on homework, try to use the time to unwind in some way.

If you really feel that you need to start preparing your presents, you can always try making them at home. A sincere and thoughtful card, even if it’s just a few sentences, can have a lot more impact than a candle you found on sale at Target.

There is no need to feed the hysteria that only grows stronger as we move toward December. Christmas is coming and it’ll get here no matter what. Until then, enjoy Thanksgiving.

Editorials represent the majority view of The Miami Hurricane editorial board.