Historically Black Friday has always been a time of crazy busy stores and waiting outside in the cold shoulder to shoulder with strangers, to be the first to enter stores like Best Buy and GameStop, to get the best deals. This year, however, Black Friday will be completely different.

With the rising case numbers of COVID-19, it is very apparent that Black Friday will be majorly different. Customers can no longer stand in these tightly packed lines to enter extremely populated stores. So that begs the question: How will Black Friday work?

Because of this many stores have been pushing their online Black Friday sales in order to persuade people to order online instead of risking the safety of themselves and others just to physically attend a store in person. Walmart is a perfect example of this by launching its Black Friday deals at the beginning of November and extending them all the way to the end of the month.

The stores and deals are a major part of Black Friday, but it is definitely not the only part. Many people use this holiday in order to bond with family members and friends. I personally relate to this because I always go Black Friday shopping with my sisters. We wake up at 4 am to go shopping, then we finish off the shopping trip by going out to breakfast.

For me, Black Friday shopping has always been an extremely fun way to bond with my sisters since we all love shopping, and it is extremely saddening to me that I will not be able to experience it normally this year.

Despite this, physically attending stores is not the only way to spend Black Friday. Since it is advised to stay inside and avoid large crowds, my sisters and I will be browsing the stores online at my sister’s house to still give the feeling that we are actually shopping.

Doing this ensures the safety of my sisters and me, while still not wasting this holiday that we usually spend together. However, you choose to spend your Black Friday, wear a mask, and stay safe.