Contact High

Night has fallen on Black Friday, ushering in yet another season of joyful mayhem.

Truthfully, this has always been one of my favorite days of the year. And yes, I generally partake in the 4 a.m. reveille and yes, I was out in the crush this year as well - although not until almost noon.

Instead of heading out with a friend, each of us armed with lists and plans and coveted items to secure, took my elementary school-aged daughters. A bit difficult to conduct oneself with any sense of purpose in the company of those two - especially since they are primary beneficiaries of said lists/plans. So here's what we did (and sorry if we annoyed you, serious shoppers):

Shook all the snow globes in all the stores.

Sat in all the massage chairs in Brookstone.

Fondled all the soft blankets and pillows (also mostly in Brookstone, a very big hit with us today).

Picked up lots of shiny things made of glass to show each other.

Took a really long time ordering from the menu at lunch.

Didn't buy much. Felt a bit like I was breaking some Christmas shopping laws, meandering around with these two. One rather huffy cashier even pointed our shameful behavior out to us, tsking my little girl for buying herself a stuffed dog. It was almost enough to make me put back the snow globe.

Didn't put it back, of course. The little Santa sleigh really flies when you wind it up.

They aren't always such delightful companions, but today they were just that. Think I'll keep them.