For serious, bargain-hunting shoppers, this is the most exciting time of year! Thanksgiving is on Thursday, November 25th, and the day after that is BLACK FRIDAY.

Curious as to how the day after Thanksgiving came to be called Black Friday, I did a little research and discovered some interesting facts. First of all, there are several usages for the term Black Friday. It was originally coined in 1869 to describe a financial crisis, a stock market catastrophe set off by gold spectators who tried and failed to corner the gold market, causing the market to collapse and stocks to plummet. (This information was found on a site that is actually called Black Friday.com, great place to find your sales information for retailers early.)

However, the definition of Black Friday we are most familiar with began with retailers and became a regular term of use in the 1960s. Believe it or not, many retailers operate in the ‘red,’ (their profits in the loss column) for the whole year until the day after Thanksgiving, the biggest Christmas shopping day of the year. When their sales skyrocket on that one shopping day, retailers finally operate in the ‘black,’ (in profit) thus the term BLACK FRIDAY. What this means for consumers is that retailers bend over backwards to get your business on this awesome of shopping days, and items can be found for rock-bottom prices.

Many consumers love the hustle, bustle and chaos of being in the midst of other like-minded shoppers on Black Friday. It is part of the enjoyment for them. There are just as many consumers who dread the crowds and only go shopping the day after Thanksgiving to find the bargains. This is where the internet can be your best friend. More and more often, bigger retailers offer early bird specials and sneak peeks at their Black Friday sales on their websites, so now is the time to start preparing for Black Friday, whether you are planning to brave the crowds or you will be shopping online.

Now is also the perfect time to buy discounted gift cards to your favorite retailers. First you save money by buying discounted gift cards for your favorite retailers at Plastic Jungle for up to 30% less than you’d pay for them elsewhere, then you save on the specials, discounts, coupons and promotions retailers are running for Black Friday, and you have banked like a bandit!

Check out the large selection of gift cards available at Plastic Jungle now in order to get your gift card in the mail (there is free shipping!) in a few days and be ready to save like crazy on Black Friday deals.  (There will be a post later this week about how and where to find Black Friday deals, so be sure to check back!)