On any given day, I enjoy shopping as much as the average consumer, I suppose.

It can be fun to search for that special treasure for a loved one. And who doesn’t like to buy clothes for baby girls? As a new grandma, I’m finding it takes a lot of restraint not to get carried away.

I’ll admit I’ve done more than my fair share of “shop ’til you drop” marathons, whether for back-to-school clothes or Christmas gifts. I’ve even stood in line at JoAnn Fabrics at 6 a.m. on Black Friday.

One time I took my two teenage daughters shopping at the enormous Mall of America in Minneapolis, where we were all completely overwhelmed by too much stuff. There was an entire store that sold nothing but seashells. Talk about excess!

Maybe it’s my age, or maybe it’s the constant bombardment of consumerism in America, but shopping doesn’t hold the fascination it once did for me. I enjoy shopping in small, quiet doses, where the choices, be it clothing, household goods or even groceries, are sensible and not endless. I’ve always favored quality over quantity.

I’m glad many of the major retailers have decided this year to remain closed on Thanksgiving. In recent years the Black Friday frenzy has been encroaching on Thanksgiving celebrations, forcing the employees of many big stores to give up their holiday and time with family.

That’s just wrong.

Sure, shopping is good for the economy. Last year close to $51 billion was spent during the four-day Black Friday weekend. The term Black Friday, by the way, apparently dates back to the early 1960s and originated in Philadelphia. It’s obviously gained in popularity, with retailers upping the ante by opening earlier and earlier until store hours have spilled into Thanksgiving.

There have been fights over merchandise, stampedes, injuries and even deaths, all in the name of getting a good deal.

Remember life before Black Friday? Some of us do, and it was idyllic. At least that’s what I recall. Thanksgiving weekend was a time for sledding or ice skating, or long Monopoly game marathons, and, of course, eating leftovers. Christmas shopping was still far from our thoughts in those days of yore.

I love the recent Small Business Saturday promotion that encourages shoppers to support smaller stores. If I do go shopping next weekend, that’s the day you’ll see me out and about.

A lot has been written about anti-consumerism. One of the best sentiments I found was from Vicki Robin’s book, “Your Money or Your Life.” She makes some very astute observations: “We no longer live life. We consume it ... If you live for having it all, what you have is never enough.”

Someone posted this on my Facebook page this week: “The older I get the more I realize that the things that cost nothing hold the most value.”

I wholeheartedly agree.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.