Black Friday marks the beginning of the holiday shopping season with many stores offering some of the year’s biggest sales. The holiday normally occurs with huge crowds and long lines, as people hurry to get the best deals on their favorite stores before their needs start to run out. However, this year’s Black Friday experience was different for lots of shoppers with the pandemic still alive. Keep reading to see how WHS students spent their unusual Black Friday this year!

Mia Mee (Freshman)

What do you normally do on Black Friday?

“[It] depends. I sometimes wait until Cyber Monday to go shopping, but it really depends, especially with the pandemic.”

What did you do on this year’s Black Friday?

“I ended up going to the mall with my friend since we were bored. It was so crowded, and I saw at least four people I knew.”

What time did you go shopping?
“Between 4-5 p.m.”

Was Black Friday shopping different this year because of the pandemic?
“Yes, there was not much social distancing and very long lines. Luckily, everyone was wearing masks, but it was the most people I have seen in the building for months. I went to grab my top that I ordered online, and my friend and I left.”

What were some good deals at the stores?
“There were lots of [things to] buy one get one free [deals] and lots of stores had their older clothing or things that weren’t popular for super low prices.”

What safety measures did you take?
“I wore two masks put on hand sanitizer multiple times and was only in there for about 15 minutes.”

Samantha Tyska (Sophomore)

What do you normally do on Black Friday?

“Normally, I wake up really early and go shopping at the mall with friends.”

What did you do on this year’s Black Friday?
“This year, I went with my sister, and we still went early, but we did not go for as long.”

Where did you go shopping?
“We went to the Natick mall.”

What time did you go shopping?
“We left the house at 6:30 a.m. My sister forced me to. She was like: ‘we are going shopping.’”

Was Black Friday shopping different this year because of the pandemic?
“Yes, 100%. The lines in some of the stores were so crazy long. Not necessarily more people, but because there is limited capacity in many stores, they had to keep people in a line outside the store.

What safety measures did you take?
“I think going [shopping] early was a good one because the few stores that we went to were not very packed at all and then other than that not going to crowded areas, we did not wait in any lines. If there was a line, we did not go. We went to the empty stores, and if it was packed inside, we didn’t really stay long, and then we left pretty early. We were there for two hours.”

What were some good deals at the stores?
“At Francesca’s, everything was less than $25, so I got a sweater, which is probably my favorite thing that I got too. Forever 21 had good deals, everything was really cheap. Macy’s had a big clearance section as well.”

Alexa Neuman (Junior)

What do you normally do on Black Friday?

“Half the time for Thanksgiving, we are at our grandparents’ house in New York, and we go to the mall there. We spend hours going into stores at the malls with our cousins and our family.

“What did you do for this year’s Black Friday?
“This year my family and I were at home, so we went to the mall, but it wasn’t for that long because we did not want to get exposed [to COVID]. So, we were [at] home and relaxing [for] most of the day.”

What time did you go shopping?
“In the afternoon, around 2-4 [p.m.]”

Was Black Friday shopping different this year because of the pandemic?
“Yes, there were lines outside of almost all of the stores because they had a capacity. The lines usually went pretty quickly, so it was not that bad to wait in the lines.”

What measures did you take to stay safe?
“We didn’t stay that long, and we made sure that if a store had a really long line that we would not go there. We did not go into as many stores as we usually would.”

Lucy Grasso (Sophomore)

What do you normally do on Black Friday?

“I’m typically with my family and my extended family in Connecticut. We like to hang out and have brunch, but because of [COVID-19], we were at home, and this year, we got to go [shopping].”

Where did you go shopping?
“I went to Target.”

What time did you go shopping?
“From 3-5 p.m.”

Was Black Friday shopping different this year because of the pandemic?
“I would say yes because there were no lines outside the door. [In the past years], some people camped out, but there wasn’t that. But, there were definitely a lot of people at Target.”

What were some good deals at the stores?
“There were really good deals on TVs. There were [also] really good deals on kitchen appliances and electronics. There were good deals on AirPods and certain types of phones.”