Photo from WeatherAndRadar.com on Black Friday, November 28, 2025. Their caption: “Big crowds are likely today”.
For shopaholics, the days between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday are the most wonderful time of year… Ready to shop ’til you drop? Here are the best Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales you don’t want to miss this year…
— from a November 26, 2025, article by Emily Weaver on BestLife.com
Our humor columnist, Louis Cannon, wrote a mildly entertaining piece last month about shopping as therapy. But shopping can also be understood as an obligation, this time of year. The most wonderful time of year.
I don’t normally participate in Black Friday activities. A walk along the river always seems like a preferable undertaking for a person like myself who dislikes crowded shopping situations.
But on Black Friday this year, I was curious if concerns about the economy and the future of American democracy were affecting my fellow Pagosans, so I stopped by Walmart at 2pm on Black Friday to check out the shopping frenzy.
Yes, the store was slightly more crowded than usual, but only slightly. Strolling past the aisles (merely as a curious spectator) I found most of the aisles empty, or with maybe one person checking prices. Even half the toy aisles were empty of shoppers, which surprised me, considering the dire need to buy toys at Christmas time.
Black Friday deals were on display, aiming at a range of budgets — from an 85-inch TCL Roku TV at $498, to ‘Joyspun’ socks in the neighboring bin, priced at $6 per bundle.
The seven-foot wide TV and the fluffy socks are made in China. Plenty of both were available.
Since I wasn’t shopping, I didn’t stay long, and still had plenty of time for a sunny stroll along the Riverwalk when I got back home. Less crowded than Walmart, and I had a chance to say hello to several fellow downtown residents on my walk. (Something that hadn’t happened at Walmart.)
Apparently, Black Friday now lasts all weekend at Walmart, which could be viewed as an unkind move, considering the small businesses in Pagosa who were advertising their own special shopping day: Small Business Saturday.
How did we do, dear shoppers, on Black Friday? According to a number of websites, the online sales for Black Friday totaled $11.8 billion.
The first seven months of 2025 — during which, I assume, very little Christmas shopping was done — online shoppers spent an average of about $3.7 billion per typical shopping day. This could be seen as an indication that, when we’re shopping for gifts for the whole (extended?) family on Black Friday, we spend more than double what we spend any other day of the year. Sort of makes sense.
I had coffee with a friend last week — a relative newcomer who is still getting to know the community — and he commented on the number of very wealthy people who call Pagosa Springs “home”.
Or maybe they call it their “second home”. Or “third home”.
He also noted that some of these wealthy folks are quite generous in supporting local charities and non-profits. (Colorado Gives Day is today, December 9.)
Some of those charities, non-profits, and service clubs?
Archuleta Seniors, Inc.
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Aspen House & Aspen Services
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Geothermal Greenhouse Partnership, Inc.
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Habitat for Humanity of Archuleta County
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Our Community Eats
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Pagosa Peak Open School
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Pagosa Pickleball Club
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Pagosa Springs Center for the Arts
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Project Sanctuary
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Rise Above Violence
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Rotary Club of Pagosa Springs
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San Juan Headwaters Forest Health Partnership
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Southwest Organization for Sustainability – SOS
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Upper San Juan Watershed Enhancement Partnership (WEP)
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Veterans For Veterans Archuleta County
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Giving to your community is certainly an option at this time of year. Donations to non-profit charities can even benefit the bottom line of your income tax return.
But I imagine most of us think, first, about giving closer to home. To family. And friends.
I came across an interesting TED Talk the other day, presented by Jacqueline Way, founder of www.365give.ca
Jacqueline is a mother of three boys and ‘social good’ activist dedicated to changing the world, one ‘give’ one day at a time. According to Ms. Way, researchers from all over the world have been studying the science and physiological of giving for decades, and some of the research suggests that ‘giving’ makes us happy, adjusts our hormones, reduces stress, and is our bodies’ natural ‘Fountain of Youth’.
Her presentation was obviously designed to inspire each of us to start a ‘daily’ giving habit — that will, she suggests, bring us joy, and change the world.
Granted, Ms. Way is a Canadian, living in Canada. So right there, she probably has a headstart on being happy. But her idea can apply to Americans as well.
Here’s her 15-minute TED Talk.
From the World Health Organization:
More than 1 billion people are living with mental health disorders, according to new data released by the World Health Organization (WHO), with conditions such as anxiety and depression inflicting immense human and economic tolls. While many countries have bolstered their mental health policies and programs, greater investment and action are needed globally to scale up services to protect and promote people’s mental health…
Is the program designed by Ms. Way and her children a possible path out of anxiety and depression for more than 1 billion people?
Giving one gift each day. An intriguing thought.
A gift of time? Share some spare change? Shovel a neighbor’s walk on a snowy morning? Donate to a food pantry or a thrift store?