Believe it or not, our next holiday is not Christmas. It’s Thanksgiving. And I am more than pleased to recognize the businesses that have announced they will be closed on Thanksgiving.
“Turkey Day” has long been my favorite holiday and I appreciate more every year those who remember it is supposed to be a day of thanksgiving. Relax, eat, drink, laugh, and if that’s your thing, offer a prayer of thanks for your many blessings.
Take the day off and, if you’re an employer, give the day off. The whole day. Black Friday shopping can wait till normal business hours on Friday. (Despite what they apparently think, Walmart, Target, Toys R Us, etc., will not go broke if they close for 24 hours). There’s more than enough time to shop before and after Thanksgiving.
That said, I’m issuing a huge thank you and an extra helping of turkey to these businesses that have announced they will be closed on Thanksgiving Day:
- A.C. Moore
- AAFES
- Academy Sports + Outdoors
- American Girl
- AT&T (Customer Service Closed; Select Retail Locations Closed)
- Barnes & Noble
- Bed Bath & Beyond (Select Locations)
- BJ’s Wholesale Club
- Blain’s Farm & Fleet
- Burlington
- Cabela’s
- Chico’s
- Christmas Tree Shops (Select Locations)
- Costco
- Crate and Barrel
- Dillard’s
- DSW
- GameStop
- Gardner-White Furniture
- Guitar Center
- Half Price Books
- Harbor Freight
- hhgregg
- Hobby Lobby
- Home Depot
- HomeGoods
- IKEA
- Jo-Ann Fabric & Craft Stores
- Jos. A. Bank
- Lowe’s
- Mall of America
- Marshalls
- Mattress Firm
- Menards
- Mills Fleet Farm
- Navy Exchange
- Neiman Marcus
- Nordstrom
- Nordstrom Rack
- Office Depot and OfficeMax
- The Original Mattress Factory
- Outdoor Research
- P.C. Richard & Son
- Patagonia
- Petco
- PetSmart
- Pier 1 Imports
- Publix
- Raymour and Flanigan Furniture
- REI
- Sam’s Club
- Sierra Trading Post
- Staples
- The Container Store
- T.J. Maxx
- Tractor Supply
- Von Maur
I hope the list gets much, much longer in the days to come.
Worthy of special recognition for also staying closed on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving:
- Outdoor Research
- REI
I remember when businesses and schools closed on election day, too. Businesses could open back up after the polls closed, though.
I don’t recall businesses closing on election day, but I do recall most of my employers gave ample time off on that day to go vote. Probably varies by state, just like all the other election and voting procedures.
Could be. Mom and Dad has a small business and I can remember them closing it when I was very young. But I don’t know when they stopped closing on election day.
I love that they’re closing. When did Thanksgiving turn into a big shopping day anyway?
Seems like it’s been maybe the last 10 years or so. I blame the retailers who keep trying to get ahead of their competitors. Of course, opening on Thanksgiving wouldn’t be of any use to them if shoppers didn’t show up. Maybe it’s a generational thing, and the younger generations(s) just don’t care about anything as old-fashioned as Thanksgiving.
You know, that probably is true. I remember when stores weren’t open on Sundays!
Rhode Island, Maine, and Massachusetts still have blue laws prohibiting most stores from opening on Thanksgiving. As I recall, Connecticut still had blue laws when I lived there and only “milk stores” (convenience stores) were allowed to open on Sunday. And somehow we all survived.
Yeah, funny, right??
Thanksgiving is America’s holiday.
Well, we also have the Fourth of July. But Thanksgiving is special in a very different way.
One does not exclude the other.
At the risk of sounding like the old woman I’ve become, I think the younger generation(s) just have no respect for tradition and stuffy ideas like celebrating “irrelevant” events from hundreds of years ago.
It’s good to know so many are closing. I’m most happy for the employees. Thanksgiving has always seemed to be more of a “family” holiday than anything else to me.
I just finished complaining myself about my neighbor already putting up his outside Christmas decorations. 🙁
Oh gag! Isn’t it enough that the one day (Christmas) has grown to consume the entire month of December, and advertising and shopping for it begins in October!? (Okay, I can see putting up lights while the weather is still relatively mild, but don’t turn them on till after Thanksgiving. And don’t put up anything else obvious until then.)
Yes, Thanksgiving to me has always meant family time. And for those without family nearby, at least friends.
So good that the trend of opening seven days a week seems to be waning. Nobody needs to shop that much! Get organized, people!
It’s a vicious circle that needs to be broken. People shop because the stores are open; the stores are open because people shop.
I’m with you. The madness must stop. And regaining a few tradtions would be nice, too.
Maybe communities/society would be less angry all the time if everything just closed up and stopped once in a while – giving people a chance to stay home or be with family and just breath.
What!? Stop for a whole day? Stay home with family? Boring! What a ridiculous idea. Besides, if “we” take a day off, “they” will get ahead of us.
/sarcasm
I think they passed us during that fist fight in Walmart over the cheap TV – (“only 5 available at each store!”)
You mean that’s already started this year?? Oy vey …
All the black Friday ads and some sales already. Oy vez indeed!
To prevent dictatorial majorities in the political arena our founders created our constitutional republic. The constitution provides the governments at every jurisdictional level with very limited powers and leaves the greater portion of power to states and individual citizens.
Dictatorial majorities created Blue Laws in order to force minorities to conform to their (the majorities) particular beliefs.
I applaud the fact that individual business’ can decide without dictatorial intervention when they are open and when they aren’t, and I detest individuals who believe they can initiate force against those they disagree with.
But then, I’m an ANAL Libertarian.
I wasn’t suggesting we reinstate blue laws or any other law that forces businesses to close on Thanksgiving. But it would be nice if more businesses followed the lead of those I listed and voluntarily closed on T-Day. Or, conversely, it would be nice if people would refuse to patronize them on Thanksgiving Day. But profit drives all the parties involved, so there’s no way it’s going to happen.
The voluntary solutions you suggest are perfect.
Of course, I have zero confidence that they’ll work.
On the other hand, I am 100% confident that they will work to the degree that they are desired by the participants.
Well, what I meant was they won’t work because there will be no participants.
I’m confused. I thought your original post was intended to give a big thumbs up to business’ that voluntarily decided to participate in closing on Thanksgiving.
It was, absolutely, because I think these businesses are the exceptional few. But until the BIG players like Walmart and Target join in, I don’t think the closings will be widespread.
On the other hand, maybe there’s a ray of hope in that the Black Friday pricing and advertising has already begun, and online shopping has become extremely popular. Maybe everyone will realize they can stay home on thanksgiving and not miss out on anything. Maybe. But I’m not holding my breath.
Thanksgiving is very special. Worth reading your list.
I really appreciate the businesses that close on Thanksgiving, and based on what I heard on the news that week, the list may be longer next year. I hope so.