One thing that puzzles me about all this “Black Frday” nonsense is that chrstmas is not politically correct. “Halloween” is now a bigger holiday than chrstmas is in American general culture. So what is everyone shopping for?
That's a good question. I think a lot of people are shopping for themselves. In my family, we generally buy things when we need them, so Christmas presents are tokens in the household, and food items (Wolferman's muffins) or flowers for non-resident relatives.