If you bought a 40-inch flat screen TV over the Thanksgiving shopping weekend, you matched most East Texas shoppers. Each of us spent a little under $300 over the Black Friday weekend, but that's only a third of what our holiday shopping total will be.

The average spent per person was $289 over the Thanksgiving shopping weekend, according to the National Retail Federation.  Most of us made the biggest purchases at department stores, discount stores, electronics stores, and clothing stores.

Did you divide your time between shopping in person and shopping online?  The NRF says the majority of us shopped in stores, and 40 percent shopped online. That was over the weekend and now it's Cyber Monday so that may flip-flop.

Some of the items that people were snatching up the most in Tyler and Longview included clothes, shoes, and video games.

I waited in line at one store for 45 minutes to pay for $6 sheet sets.  The cashier had to print out special stickers for each item to scan the sale price, and then ask for email addresses as part of the checkout process.  That added up to delays, and eons in line and customers sat down to rest, shopped on phones, and ate energy bars to pass the time.  It was an adventure.

How many items did you buy at regular price on Black Friday?  Zero?  Again, right in line with the rest of America.  One hundred percent of purchases were for sale items.  Except maybe that energy-boosting latte.

They're saying our spending will be up 3 or 4 percent this year, and we'll eventually top out at about $935.  There's plenty of time left, so don't stress.

And thanks UPS, FedEx, and US Mail for bringing us all the goods!  We'll get out of your way.

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