Thanksgiving week is upon us. This is, IMHO the best American holiday. Who doesn’t like eating so much that you fall asleep at 4:30PM while watching one of America’s legendary NFL franchises, the Detroit Lions lose yet again? Of course, most of us do this with our families, just the beginning of a 5 week period of reliving our childhoods, good or bad. The best news for those of us in the Boston area is that hopefully well see fewer mean turkeys roaming the streets on Friday.

To those of you away from home or new to America, I hope that you find a way to partake in the joys of the holiday and of the season in general.

The most exciting part of Thanksgiving to most Americans (and a lot of Europeans judging by the empty suitcases I always saw on the BA flight to NYC during this week) is that it is the unofficial kickoff of the holiday shopping season. Back in simpler times, like five years ago, people would stuff their faces on Thanksgiving and go to bed early just so they could wake up early to get to Walmart for their $59 television or their $10 George Foreman Indoor Grill (“Limited Quantities Apply”). Oh, did I mention that every year someone dies running through the aisles trying to rip the last $25 DVD player from grandma’s hands!

Now America’s greatest retailers have solved the problem. How you ask? By opening their stores on Thanksgiving day. This will bring to ONE the number of days where underpaid employees are actually allowed to take the day off to spend with their families. I’ll let you all guess which day that is.

Now of course retailers have given all of those minimum wage employees the option of not working on the holiday. I imagine the memo read something like this:

“Crappy retailer XYZ has decided to respond to overwhelming demand from its fabulous customer base to spend their money ASAP. As a result we will be opening on Thanksgiving Day. It is optional for associates to join our family on Thanksgiving. For those of you who wish to spend the day with your families, we wish you a happy holiday season and best of luck in 2014″

The reality is that most of these people do not have the option of saying no to their employer and will need to go to work to keep their jobs.

What should we do about this? I am vowing right now that I will not spend a penny at any of the retailers that are open on Thanksgiving Day. I hope that each of you will be encouraged to do the same. After all, its likely that manufacturers made enough stuff for all of you to get everything you want. Also, the best sales usually take place closer to the holiday when retailers panic that they will be hung with excess inventory.

Heres a list of America’s “finest” retailers who have chosen to be open on Thanksgiving. Please boycott these stores:

Walmart
Best Buy
Michaels
Toys R’Us
Sports Authority
Old Navy
Bon-Ton
Dicks Sporting Goods
JC Penney
Kohls
Macy’s
Modells
Office Depot
Office Max
Sears
Shopko
Target
Staples

Heres a list of the retailers who are allowing their staff a day with family. Please support these stores:

AAFES Exchange
Aeropostale
Ace Hardware
Bass Pro Shops
Bed, Bath, & Beyond
BJ’s Wholesale Club
Costco
Fred’s
GameStop
Gordmans
Half Price Books
Harbor Freight Tools
Havertys
Home Depot
JoAnn Fabrics
Lowe’s
Meandrous
Nordstrom
PETCO
PetSmart
Radio Shack
Rite Aid
Sam’s Club
Sportsmans Warehouse
Stein Mart
Tommy Hilfiger

Wishing you all a happy and healthy Thanksgiving!!!