An Unconventional Black Friday

It’s that time of year when we start to notice the feelings of urgency start to creep in. Your inbox is flooded with “don’t miss outs” “last chances” & “only time this years”.

Black Friday, while sometimes helpful for our wallets, can make us forget how to gift intentionally. It is easy to fall into the traps of not wanting to miss out on certain sales or choosing to get something for someone just because it’s on sale. What happens is that in the moment of giving your gift, you realize that what you got them, doesn’t really show them that you know them - leaving the experience of gifting feeling more like a check off the list instead of an intentional experience.

Intentionally gifting for yourself & others doesn’t have to be expensive. 

It just takes a little bit of planning & an awareness of how to keep your blinders on during the urgency of Black Friday sales.

Questions to Ask Yourself For Gifting To Others:

1. Who do I need a gift for this year?
   when you start with a list, it helps you stay intentional & focused.

2. What is my ideal budget for each person?
   this will help you filter out things that are outside your budget. Helping you save time by limiting your scrolling

3. When I think of this person, what 5 words come to mind?
   use this to inform your decisions when choosing gifts. If the gift doesn’t align with the words, it’s not the right gift for them.

4. Does this gift option elevate an experience they enjoy or make a task more enjoyable for them? Or does it add more noise or stuff to what they already own?
   society tells us that we need to increase the quantity of our gifts to make someone feel known & loved. The truth is that quality matters more. A small meaningful gift will matter more than 5 extra things they don’t need.

Questions to Ask Before Buying for Yourself:

Let’s be honest, Black Friday sales are a fun time to buy things for yourself. The same thoughts apply here as when you gift for others. We can be as intentional with ourselves as we are with others. There is a sense of freedom when your home is filled with intentional things & your brain has space to dream. I don’t know about you, but I can spend hours going back & forth on whether I should purchase something, which takes up a lost of brain space that could be used in different ways. I hope these questions help you create a sense of freedom for yourself now & in the future.

1. Do I have a similar version of this at home already?
   for me right now, this is skin care, I have options at home, so I don’t necessarily need to replace items right now *delete any skin care or makeup emails* Sometimes things do need to be replaced, but make a commitment to get rid of the thing that it’s replacing.

2. Am I only thinking about this because it’s on sale?
   this year, it’s been programs or apps that offer an annual subscription at a discount. It doesn’t matter if I am currently happy with the free version - “with the annual subscription features, it would be so much better!” Truthfully, the free version is working soooo *deleting the annual subscription offer emails*

3. Is this something I have been thinking about for more than 3 months?
   earlier this week, a friend & I went to Austin - one of my favorite stores is Everlane & they have a location in town. Even though I needed to replace a couple of clothing items before, I waited until this trip to purchase them because I love the in-store experience. A bonus is that they are having a sale right now which made the wait even better.

4. Does this item contribute to where I want to be 3 months from now?
   for me, I have dreams of using a certain company for my website in the future, but I have already paid for my current website & platform through the summer of next year. Future Lauren wants to be a good steward of her business finances, so purchasing a new website template & platform does not contribute to Future Lauren’s goals. So, I’ll table that for May 2025 for when I’m ready to switch. *deletes website template emails*

5. Is this something that I will need to buy in the next month anyways?
   hello Rifle Paper wrapping paper sale! One thing that brings me a lot of joy is wrapping gifts beautifully. I always love Rifle’s wrapping paper so taking advantage of their Black Friday sale is a yes.

As you are shopping (or not) I’d love to hear how these questions helped you be intentional this weekend. Send me a quick note by clicking reply or send me a DM on instagram.

It’s okay to be your unconventional self for Black Friday weekend. You aren’t missing out - you are creating space for a beautiful, intentional, aligned life.

Cheers,

Lauren.