I wish stores didn't open for prep until 6am and open the doors until 10am---as usual---on Black Friday. The slide of prep back towards midnight and the opening to 6am was just a "camel nose in the tent door" marketing effort a couple decades ago. It was only a matter of time until number crunchers at the headquarters (who won't be working between Tuesday and the following Monday) started moving the clock backward.
Regardless of the amount of money spent over the holidays, folks who rely on retail for a paycheck now have to skip a large part of Thanksgiving and don their smocks. And the chance at a bargain widget sends families in multiple directions, often to the disappointment of a child, parent, or spouse who would rather spend the holiday together having fun, making memories. Even at my parents' home, there is a nice plaque on the wall that says, "The most valuable things in life aren't things." But when I suggested that my mother, sister, and wife skip the sales last year to spend more time with the family and all of the kids/grandkids, they were speechless. I would love to skip a family holiday one year to prove the point, but that would be a waste of what time we do have.