"The only reason a great many American families don't own an elephant is that they have never been offered an elephant for a dollar down and easy weekly payments." ~Mad Magazine
We have blogged extensively about Thanksgiving, football games, and other November fall traditions. But, there are two days in November in which Project Good Life does not participate: We do not celebrate Beaujolais Nouveau on November 17. And, we do not shop on Black Friday. Don't get me wrong, we love wine and we love to shop. We also like good deals. But, we buck the trend on both of these days. Why? Well, to put it bluntly: Beaujolais Nouveau rarely, if ever, tastes good and the material madness on Black Friday is energy-sucking.
The Husband and I love wine and most especially French wine. We love French wine so much that we have made several trips to France for the purpose of wine. But, we do not like Beaujolais Nouveau . For those Project Good Life readers who do not know much about Beaujolais Nouveau; it is a wine that is bottled for only six to eight weeks and then released on November 17. The release of Beaujolais Nouveau is celebrated by many wine lovers and many cafes (including the French Embassy here in Washington, DC) have parties to celebrate its arrival. Some wine critics go so far as to recommend Beaujolais for Thanksgiving dinner. The Husband and I find it too young, not ripe enough and, in the words of Karen MacNeil, like drinking raw cookie dough. We thought we were alone, but as we have had the courage to voice our disillusionment with Beaujolais, we have learned that there are many others silently with us. The Urban Family bought a bottle of Beaujolais to celebrate its arrival. In discussing this topic with them, they admitted that they were displeased. I placed a few bottles out (covered so that one could not see the label) at a recent gathering of friends and everyone passed over it for the other wines offered.
We have the same disillusionment with Black Friday. As a teenager, I loved going shopping with my mom the day after Thanksgiving. But, over the last 10 years or so, Back Friday has become a crazed and manic experience. Hords of people and blaring Christmas music is not my idea of a relaxing holiday day. I do not want to get up at 1am to go stand in line at a WalMart or a Best Buy (most especially if it involves getting hit with pepper spray). And, the high end stores (sadly, even our Mothership) are no better on Black Friday.
How and why have things become so crazed? Why do people insist on celebrating bad wine and shopping on the one day a year when things are manic? My theory is that this craze is reflective of people not taking time on ordinary days to celebrate -- They, instead, wait until one "special" day to celebrate life's goodness and the result defeats the purpose. At Project Good Life, we never need an excuse to celebrate wine or to go shopping -- We drink wine, shop, and buy gifts for others on ordinary days. We also put chandeliers in our bathroom, eat on our best dishes, and throw parties for no apparent reason. And, we think the world would be a better place if others did the same thing too. There will be no Black Friday craze for us. Today, we will relax with our family and friends, drinking some well-balanced wine, eating left overs, and watching football.
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