Missy Cobb, a dance teacher and mom to three, wrote a guest blog for momaha.

Click here for a roundup of area retailer Black Friday plans.

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It’s the most wonderful time of the year!

Christmas carols, festive decorations, and smiling faces are everywhere you turn. There is no escaping the holiday bliss.

That is exactly why I plan on waking up in the middle of the night, in the freezing cold, to wait in line for hours upon hours to fight strangers to electronics for my kids (pictured below).

Black Friday is one of my favorite days of the year and coincidentally the most ridiculously dramatic days of the year.

I’ve tried to hate it. I really have. Every year I tell myself these “deals” are not that great. Then Thanksgiving Day arrives and so do Black Friday sales ads — a blessing and a curse. I have zero will-power over these print ads. Black Friday shoppers, you know the feeling… OK. Quit twisting my arm, I’M IN!

The chaos of this day would almost make sense if I had a team of people and a plan of attack. I have neither.

Since all my family members think I’m nuts, I go alone and usually have no idea what I’m after. Minor details, really.

I coach myself to follow the crowd and start grabbing anything marked “DOOR BUSTER.” I can always return it later but I am not, I repeat, I AM NOT missing out on these deals — whatever they are!

So, wish me luck.

If you have never been out on this day and are planning your first attempt, I don’t recommend following my strategies. While I have never had a “bad” experience on Black Friday, shoppers are hard core. So come prepared — with ads in tow, a route, snacks.

May the best woman (or man) win the opportunity to buy that iPhone, camera or giant TV.

For juicy aftermath details about my Black Friday shopping experience, read it here.

Missy Cobb lives in Omaha with her husband, Gage, and three children — Sammy, Holly, and Stella. She teaches dance at Nebraska Dance and loves taking pictures and blogging about her family.

In ONE word, describe what “Black Friday” means to you? Click here to answer.

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