So, with Black Friday and the holidays quickly approaching, I felt it might be useful to other if I shared a bit of the knowledge I've gained as a Wal-Mart cashier, and as a kid who never grew up, to others. I don't have kids, I don't need it. So here's a few tips that might help.

1. Know what it is your kids want. Get good descriptions, pictures are even better. Don't go with descriptions kids give like "a big red and blue robot with wings that come off and he talks and has a gun". That doesn't work very well. The best things my family did were handing the kids catalogs and ads from different stores and have them each circle what it was they wanted. Once, I printed my Christmas list off a computer with pictures of the things beside their descriptions, as well as where to find them. That worked very well, I'd recommend it if your kids or kids you're shopping for are old enough.

2. Get it done early!! The earlier you get your shopping done, the better. Don't wait until a week or so before Christmas when the prices are jacked up and the only ones left are damaged. Ask your kids what they want early, and get it done while everything's fresh and new. Before Black Friday is a good time. Actually, if you really wanna know a good time to shop, it's late at night, near midnight or 1 am. At Wal-Mart, anyway. The Wal-Mart I work at restocks on Thurdays, so Wednesday or Thursday night is a good time to go, or whatever time your nearest Wal-Mart restocks. Also, if you're going shopping mainly for a teenager, stuff like an XBox 360, Wii or whatever, you don't need to rush too badly. I've rarely seen stores run out of game stations unless they were just released. Games are usually the same way.

3. Don't give them clothes unless they want them. Seriously, that's just depressing to a kid... if it's like, Transformer pajamas or a Hannah Montana (ew) skirt or something, that's okay.

4. Be careful where you buy. While it's not a problem out here in the southern states, I've heard that some people sell toys on the streets and whatnot in bigger cities. Don't buy these. Don't buy a toy from a small business or a independent person. That's not the Wal-Mart Obedience chip implanted in my skull talking, that's real advice. Through personal experience, I recommend only buying from places you trust. Be careful with the internet too. Though it can sometimes be the best way to shop, be careful who you order it from. Usually the best places to look are the websites for the stores who carry the item, or the website of the company who makes it. But again, that has to be done early.

5. NEVER buy a knockoff. I've noticed some people, especially grandparents have a habit of buying something that matches the description of what the kid wanted, but isn't really, often times because they can't find the real thing, or they find a similar item that's alot cheaper, usually a knockoff from a smaller store. I HIGHLY recommend not buying these, not only because it's not what the kid asked for, but because they often times are pretty poorly made. Just as an experiment, I bought Transformer knock offs from small cheap stores and compared them it real ones. They were badly made, barely worked, and often times broke shortly after opening them or trying to play with them. So, though they may be a bit more expensive, I really recommend getting the real things. Especially stay away from items that have the packaging written in another language, unless of course the kid asked for something that came from a Japanese store, like a anime plush or some kinda foreign food.

There ya go. Hope this little advise helps. I'm gonna go lay down now, this Obedience Chip is giving me a headache...