Thousands of Amazon workers all across Europe are striking today.
As shoppers in the U.S.A. log in to Amazon to find Black Friday deals, Amazon workers in the UK, Spain, France, Italy, and Germany are striking to protest working conditions in the company’s warehouses.
Black Friday is considered to be the busiest shopping day of the year for retailers.
The British trade union that represents Amazon’s warehouse workers, GMB Union, says its members are protesting “in anger of inhumane conditions” that they claim Amazon’s warehouse employees endure. The union has been posting updates from the strike on social media under the hashtag #AmazonWeAreNotRobots.
“The conditions our members at Amazon are working under are frankly inhuman. They are breaking bones, being knocked unconscious and being taken away in ambulances. We’re standing up and saying enough is enough, these are people making Amazon its money. People with kids, homes, bills to pay — they’re not robots,” GMB General Secretary Tim Roache wrote in a statement on the union’s website. “Jeff Bezos is the richest bloke on the planet; he can afford to sort this out. Working people and the communities Amazon operates in deserve better than this. That’s what we’re campaigning for.”
Another union partaking in the strike, UNI Global, says over 2,000 of its members are demonstrating throughout Europe. An Italian news outlet reports Amazon managers have had to do the jobs of warehouse workers and pack items due to the number of employees striking.
Amazon warehouse workers in Germany and Spain are planning to strike for at least 24 hours, Reuters reports.
This isn’t the first time this year Amazon warehouse workers in Europe have protested working conditions. Workers in Europe went on strike earlier this year on another one of Amazon’s peak shopping events, Prime Day, demanding better conditions in the company’s warehouses.
Not long after Prime Day, Amazon instituted a “Fulfillment Center Ambassador” program, in which certain Amazon employees were given a new job within the company: defending Amazon on Twitter. The FC Ambassadors would reply to tweets referencing negative news about Amazon warehouse working conditions, such as workers having to pee in bottles, in order to dispel the reports.
“Our European Fulfillment Network is fully operational as we all remain focused on delivering the best customer experience for the peak season. Any reports to the contrary are simply wrong,” said an Amazon spokesperson in a statement to Mashable. “Amazon is a fair and responsible employer. We believe in continuous improvement across our network and maintain an open and direct dialogue with our associates.
“Amazon has invested over 27 billion euros and created over 75,000 permanent jobs across Europe since 2010. These are good jobs with highly competitive pay, full benefits, and innovative training programs like Career Choice that pre-pays 95% of tuition for associates. We provide safe and positive working conditions, and encourage anyone to come see for themselves by taking a tour at one of our fulfillment centers.”
When a (ridiculously cute) four-month-old chow-chow puppy named Bungle was seized by police after biting an officer, the internet couldn’t handle it.
Bungle, the chow pup in question, was loose in a street near Towcaster, UK, on November 17th, when he bit an officer on the arm and hand as they tried to detain the dog. Under the Dangerous Dogs Act, this could cost Bungle up to 9 months in police custody.
But now, Bungle has been freed after only five days in custody – much to the joy of the thousands of people who had joined the large-scale social media campaign to free him.
The owners, David and Susan Hayes, told the sun that they thought the police’s actions had been “disproportionate,” since Bungle is just a puppy.
After Bungle was first seized, his owners then took to social media to advocate for his release. Since, more than 10,000 people had signed a petition to free Bungle and a Facebook group dedicated to the pup’s freedom got over 5600 members.
Image: bungle the chow on facebook
The campaign got picked up by UK newspaper The Sun, who put Bungle on the front page and advocated for the pup’s release.
After Bungle was returned to his owners on Friday, the Northamptonshire Police stood by their decision to seize Bungle. In a press release, Chief Superintendent Chris Hillery explained that despite the public outcry, he thinks that the officer’s actions were proportionate.
“To be absolutely clear, I fully support the officers’ actions in this case, the dog was unattended in a live carriageway and was aggressive to those present resulting in the officer being bitten and receiving injuries that required hospital attention,” Hillery said.
He also stated that the decision to release Bungle was “in no way […] impacted by the media.”
Gunmen in Syria’s rebel-held Idlib province have killed Raed Fares, a prominent activist who ran an independent radio station in the country’s last opposition stronghold.
Fares was shot on Friday along with his colleague Hamoud Juneid in the town of Kafranbel, according to their Radio Fresh station.
Fares and Juneid were “shot dead by unknown assailants riding a van in Kafranbel”, Fresh FM, which provides independent news and satirises both President Bashar al-Assad and opposition groups, said in a post on Facebook.
Salman, a 33-year-old mathematics teacher, who witnessed the attack, told the Middle East Eye websitethat attackers in a van driving “at high speed … fired shots from a machine gun, before speeding away”.
Juneid died during the attack while Fares died of his wounds at the Orient Hospital, Middle East Eye reported.
Fares gained prominence early in the uprising against Assad, which began with mass demonstrations in 2011 and slid into civil war, with protest banners that drew international attention on social media.
The banners targeted Assad, his allies Iran and Russia, Western powers that Fares portrayed as selling out ordinary Syrians through their response to the crisis, and the various armed groups who had emerged in the chaos.
Fares, who survived a 2014 gun attack by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, known as ISIS) armed group, also distributed photographs and video clips showing the toll that war was taking in Kafranbel, providing a picture of life in rebel-held parts of Syria where it was dangerous for foreign media to visit.
In his last posts on Twitter on September 21, Fares wrote about a demonstration against “Russia, Assad and all kinds of terrorism”.
He also posted a picture of himself with his two sons at the rally as thousands took to the streets across Idlib to protest against a potential full-fledged offensive by government forces and their allies.
Kafranbel 21 Sep 2018 Me and my sons: Mohamad & Ahmad Kafranbel Demonstration pic.twitter.com/uye23DCODy
Kafranbel: 21 Sep 2018 Demonstration against Russia, Assad and all kinds of Terrorism the song says: “Syria will be a Free Country” PART 2 pic.twitter.com/SvapeBdGRq
In an opinion piece in June in the Washington Post, calling for the United States to resume financial support for Radio Fresh, Fares wrote that “the terrorist groups [and the government] see us as a direct threat”.
He told Al Jazeera in 2015 that Radio Fresh was the “most beautiful and important thing” he ever did.
By his own account, his offices were targeted both by government bombardment and by armed groups, who abducted and tortured him several times.
But he told Al Jazeera that though he had the means to leave Syria, he intended to stay until Assad was defeated.
‘Calamity’
News of Fares’ killing triggered an outpouring of grief on social media.
Nasser Weddady, a US-based political analyst, called Fares’ death an “immense loss to the cause of freedom in Syria and beyond”, while Marietje Schaake, a member of the European Parliament, said she saw his “legacy as a task for all of us, to keep supporting Syrians who risk everything for democracy and liberty”.
R.I.P Raed Fares, the bravest nonviolent man I ever met. An immense loss to the cause of freedom in Syria and beyond. pic.twitter.com/C7ZZVVgaK0
He survived an assassination attempt by ISIS, but more than enemies, Raed had many admirers. His loved ones and the people of Syria have lost in Raed an example, a man who chose to lead and speak up, despite the harshest repression. I wish his loved ones comfort and support 2/3
The stream of terrible news continue to pummel us. Such an irreplaceable loss. Such a calamity.
— İyad el-Baghdadi | إياد البغدادي (@iyad_elbaghdadi) November 23, 2018
Awful news from Syria, that prominent activist Raed Fares from Kafranbel was assassinated alongside fellow activist Hammoud Jned. You will remember the pro-democracy banners and posters from Kafranbel, critical of the regime and Islamist extremists https://t.co/G4iYXhINBxpic.twitter.com/JLN5vk4oJb
More sad news from Syria. Raed Fares and Hammud Junayd, two of the sharp minds behind the great protest banners and activities in Kafranbel were assassinated overnight ( most likely by HTS). May their souls rest in peace.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based war monitor, has reported a succession of assassinations in Idlib over the past year targeting leaders from the area’s major factions and political dissidents who publicly disagree with their governance.
The Hay’et Tahrir al-Sham alliance is the most powerful of several groups present in Idlib province.
A Russian-Turkish deal to prevent further fighting in northwest Syria has for now averted a planned government offensive.
Every holiday gifting list has that one person who just has everything. Just gotta make things hard, don’t they?
Or not: If you’re stumped, an at-home DNA testing kit is your answer — they’re basically the “everyone” gift. AncestryDNA, 23andMe, LivingDNA, MyHeritage DNA, Geno 2.0 Next Generation by National Geographic, and ORIG3N are all having massive Black Friday sales (like, their lowest prices of the year massive). These things have blown up in the past year — so it’s pretty likely that the person you’re gifting to has been wanting to try out this whole DNA testing thing for themselves. Plus, what’s a cooler gift than the gift of finding out you’re related to a former president or Queen?
If you want more details on what each test covers before you make your purchase, find our complete comparison guide on which DNA kit is best for you here.
Possibly the most well-known DNA service, most use AncestryDNA to get that cool pie chart that everyone wants, as well as to uncover distant cousins hiding in their family tree. This kit uses an autosomal (family finder) DNA test that surveys your entire genome at more than 700,000 locations, meaning it covers both the father’s and the mother’s lineage, though it doesn’t tell you what DNA came from which parent. Fill the tube with spit, send it back for testing, and results will be back in 6-8 weeks.
AncestryDNA’s autosomal testing kit usually goes for $99, but you can get it for $50 off at $49 here.
Named 23andMe as a nod to each person’s unique set of 23 chromosomes, this is the only kit in this lineup that offers health screenings on top of the common autosomal (family finder) testing — and that’s is a pretty big deal, especially if you’re concerned with hereditary illness (or if the person you’re gifting to is a major hypochondriac). Fill the tube with spit, send it back for testing, and results will be back in 6-8 weeks.
A bit of a newbie to the game: The National Geographic kit is unique in that it uses next-generation sequencing instead of genotyping technology which is a speedier process that looks at the protein-encoding parts of your genome instead of just piecing stuff together. Whole exome sequencing picks up info that genotyping can’t, making Nat Geo’s kit able to give you your Hominin ancestry — AKA the percentage of DNA in common with a Neanderthal. The kit also tells you where your ancestors came from (with maternal and paternal lines separated), but won’t go into as much detail as other kits. Fill the tube with spit, send it back for testing, and get results back in 6-12 weeks.
Geno 2.0 regularly goes for $99.99, but you can save $44 and get it for $55.99 today here.
If differentiating details from your mother’s side and father’s side is an absolute must, LivingDNA is the best bang for your buck. Another specific: If you know that a lot of your results will be in the UK or are most interested in the UK regions, Living DNA will be the kit for you as it goes very in-depth into the British Isles. Do a cheek swab, send the tool back for testing, and results will be in around 10-12 weeks.
Living DNA kits regularly go for $99, but you can save $20 and get one for $69 here.
Impatient? MyHeritage is said to be the fastest and cheapest test, usually sending results back to participants in 3-4 weeks. MyHeritage also pulls from an impressive 42 graphic regions, which is the third highest number behind AncestryDNA and Living DNA. DNA can be linked online to create a family tree, and there is an option to upload raw data — so if you’ve gotten some sort of genealogy tests done before or have outside genetics information that you’d like to use, it can easily be included in results. The database is small, so the chance of connecting with live relatives is lower than other kits — but if you’re just interested in tracing rather than meeting someone, that won’t matter.
MyHeritage regularly go for a cheap $75, but you can save $26 and get it for $49 here.
If none of these kits are hitting home for you yet, ORIG3N just may be able to help. Instead of DNA related to finding the who and where of your ancestry, this ultra-unique line of kits uses your DNA to find specifics about your health. There’s a box for a DNA fitness test, a DNA nutrition test, a DNA behavior test, a DNA child test, a DNA alcohol tolerance test, and about 15 more — allowing you to pinpoint exactly what you’re looking for without paying for the other stuff. There’s no family finder stuff, but this detailed genetic info can provide insights into how a specific person’s body and mind works and can be used to help that person make proactive lifestyle choices.
ORIG3N kits usually range from $29 to $149, but you can save up to 50% today and get a kit for as low as $7.12 — the most expensive one is only $73.82.
Mashable chose Embark as the best-of-the-best doggy DNA kits, and not just because its name is a fun pun (though that is a bonus). Embark offers insanely detailed health screenings, maternal and paternal tracing back to great grandparents, and tons of genetic markers, making this dog DNA test just as in depth as tests for humans — you’ll even find out if there’s any wolf or coyote blood. The health aspect tests for over 160 diseases and known medical issues for dogs, which could help extend the fur baby’s life if something is caught early enough. After a cheek swab, results will be back within three to seven weeks.
Wisdom Panel is a favorite for dog parents who have no idea what type of fur baby they’re dealing with: When the answer to “Aw, what kind of dog is he?” is “Eh, just a mutt,” this kit is begging to step in. Claiming to have the largest breed database in the dog DNA market, Wisdom Panel kicks the family finder up a notch by testing over 250 canine breeds (which is about 50 more than other tests and includes wolf and coyote). On top of the family tree, there’s also an option for a health screening. After the cheek swab, results should be back within a quick two to three weeks.
Wisdom Panel 3.0 regularly goes for $84.99, but you can save $35 and get it for $49.99 here.
Just to let you know, if you buy something featured here, Mashable might earn an affiliate commission.
Get 46% off the Furbo for Black Friday.
Image: Furbo
By Mashable DealsMashable Deals
This Black Friday, don’t forget about the most important being in your life — your dog.
If we could stay home with our dogs at all times, we would, but unfortunately we need to go to work so we can pay for their food and toys. Thanks to the magic of technology, though, we can play with our furry friends all day long. With Furbo, a Wi-Fi-enabled camera with two-way audio built to keep tabs on your pet, you can toss them treats from anywhere in the world.
In addition to barking alerts that let you know when your dog is agitated, the software can also recognize your dog’s face and send you a “selfie” when she gets close to the camera. It supposedly learns her activities and alerts you to specific events, like if a person enters the house.
Furbo is the number one bestselling pet camera on Amazon. It topped the list in both the pet and camera categories on Amazon Prime day and now it’s on sale again for $134.99. That’s 46% off the retail price of $249 and $30 less than last Black Friday. Pro tip: This makes a great gift for dog owners.
Pick up a Furbo now and treat your dog (or the dog lover in your life) to a gift this year.
Wow….
“EA SPORTS and adidas have collaborated on a set of exclusive digital 4th kits only available in FIFA 18 Ultimate Team. Four of the biggest clubs in the world are featured, including Real Madrid, Manchester United, FC Bayern, and Juventus.” https://t.co/maIKPmNaSx
President Donald Trump has argued that many voters who support him did not vote in the midterm elections because his name was not on the ballot. | AP Photo/Susan Walsh
‘They haven’t gotten his job approval over 50 percent, like Reagan,’ says one GOP pollster.
Donald Trump insists the GOP’s midterm election shellacking had nothing to do with him. Things will be different, he says, when his name is actually on the ballot in 2020.
While it’s true that most presidents who see their party suffer major losses in their first midterm election get reelected anyway, Trump isn’t most presidents — and there are lots of blaring-red warning lights in this month’s election results for his bid for a second term.
Story Continued Below
Unlike most of his predecessors, he’s been persistently unpopular, with approval ratings mired in the 40-percent range — so far, he’s the only president in the modern era whose job approval ratings have never been over 50 percent, according to Gallup.
Some of Democrats’ biggest gains came in the states that powered Trump’s Electoral College victory in 2016: Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. And while a president’s base has stayed home in previous midterm elections, leading to losses, the record turnout in this year’s races suggests 2018 was more like a 2016 re-run than Trump voters standing on the sidelines.
Thus far, even Trump loyalists in the party haven’t seen the president expand his electoral base beyond core Republicans.
“This is now the party of Donald Trump. I read articles saying the Republican Party has merged with the Trump coalition — they have no choice. Trump voters own the Republican Party. That’s consolidated,” said John McLaughlin, who was part of the team of pollsters working on Trump’s 2016 campaign. “The bad part is they haven’t broadened [his coalition]. They haven’t gotten his job approval over 50 percent, like Reagan. We haven’t done that.”
Republicans have taken solace in the examples of recent presidents who saw their party drubbed in their first midterm, only to win a resounding reelection victory two years later.
Barack Obama’s Democratic Party lost 63 House seats and 6 Senate seats in 2010, but Obama defeated former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in 2012. Republicans flipped both the House, where they netted 52 seats, and Senate in 1994, but Bill Clinton slaughtered former Sen. Bob Dole (R-Kan.) in 1996. Ronald Reagan’s GOP lost 26 House seats in 1982 — and picked up a seat in the Senate — but Reagan nearly swept the Electoral College against former Vice President Walter Mondale two years later, winning a 49-state landslide.
Reagan’s example has been a balm for some Republicans, especially given the similarities in the House-Senate split decisions — Republicans gained at least one Senate seat this year, pending the results of next week’s special-election runoff in Mississippi. But in order to repeat his feat, Trump’s approval rating would have to rise to heretofore-unseen levels: Reagan was in the low-40s around the 1982 midterms and improved to 58 percent in the Gallup poll immediately before the 1984 election.
Throughout the campaign, even the most optimistic Republican pollsters were modeling a turnout rate far higher than in previous midterm elections. And that’s borne out in the election results: As of Thursday, more than 111.7 million votes had been counted in House elections nationwide, according to the Cook Political Report.
Estimates are that the final count will be around 113 million — a lot closer to the 129.8 million votes that were cast in House races in the presidential year of2016 than 2014’s paltry turnout of 79 million votes.
Republicans made gains in 2010 because — in large part — the coalition that elected then-President Barack Obama didn’t come out to vote in his midterms. Turnout dropped from 120.7 million in 2008, to 86.9 million in 2010.
“All the data indicated that voters were really pumped [this year] — that there was an excitement and energy that we didn’t really see in 2010 and 2012,” said Neil Newhouse, a Republican pollster who worked for Romney’s 2012 presidential bid. “What you see in this election is not only can Democrats turn their votes out, but Trump demonstrated an extraordinary ability to turn his votes out, too.”
Trump has argued, however, that many voters who support him stayed home on Election Day.
“I didn’t run. I wasn’t running. My name wasn’t on the ballot,” Trump told “Fox News Sunday,” in an interview recorded last week. “There are many people that think, ‘I don’t like Congress,’ that like me a lot. I get it all the time: ‘Sir, I will never vote unless you were on the ballot.’ I get it all the time.
“People are saying, ‘Sir, I will never vote unless you’re on the ballot. I say, ‘No, no, go and vote,’” he added. “As much as I try and convince people to go vote, I’m not on the ballot.”
There were some bright spots in the wreckage for Republicans who, besides expanding their slim Senate majority alsoheld Florida’s governorship and ousted Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson by the narrowest of margins. They retained the governorship in Ohio, though Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown won reelection. Iowa GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds also won a full term, but Democrats beat two of the state’s three Republican members of Congress.
But the biggest advances for Democrats were made in the three states that put Trump over the top in the Electoral College in 2016: Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Democrats won the governorships in all three — wresting away an open seat in Michigan and defeating two-term incumbent Scott Walker in Wisconsin, while holding Pennsylvania. Democratic incumbent senators in all three won reelection without breaking much of a sweat.
Democrats also won six more House elections across Michigan and Pennsylvania than they had captured in 2016, helped in large part by a new congressional map in Pennsylvania.
“There’s simply no evidence that those states are crying out for more Trump,” said Mark Mellman, a Democratic pollster who worked for then-Sen. John Kerry’s 2004 presidential campaign.
The map could expand beyond those three states, too. Mellman added that the Florida results were “essentially a tie,” and Sen.-elect Kyrsten Sinema’s victory in Arizona — she’s the first Democrat to win a Senate race there since 1988 — is a sign that the state “is likely to be a significant battleground” in 2020.
Pollsters from both parties say Trump’s chances of recovering depend, in part, on improving his approval rating, which he’s thus far failed to do. In the latest POLITICO/Morning Consult poll, 45 percent of registered voters approved of the job Trump is doing as president — equal to his performance in two separate exit polls of 2018 voters, and consistent with the past year, when his approval rating has ranged between 40 and 47 percent.
“Trump’s approval rating has been historically very low,” said Mellman. “Other presidents have been as well, but their approval ratings have been more malleable. His is sort of stuck.”
Lynn Vavreck, a professor at the University of California-Los Angeles and a member of the advisory board for the American National Election Studies, said she’s skeptical public opinion of Trump will change markedly in the next two years.
“It’s so divided by partisanship,” said Vavreck. “Republicans approve of him, and Democrats don’t. And that’s pretty much the floor and the ceiling. There’s not a lot of room for movement, unless Republicans turn on him, or Democrats learn to like him. I don’t see either of things happening.”
But pollsters and experts also urge caution against assuming the die is cast against Trump. Presidents typically see their party lose seats in their first midterms, and most presidents get reelected.
“It [usually] borders on the foolish to draw a straight line from the midterms to the next general,” Mellman said.
In 2020, not only can the president run against the new House Democratic majority — he’ll have an opponent with whom to contrast himself.
“Be careful of extrapolating 2018 success into what it means for 2020 because it just doesn’t fit,” Newhouse said. “2018 was more of a referendum on President Trump. 2020 is going to be more of a choice. And Trump does much better in a choice battle when he has someone to run against.”
NCT 127 are anything but conventional. The group have been releasing some of the most sonically unique and confident songs in K-Pop since the unit’s loud, frenetic introduction with “Fire Truck” in 2016. But with the release of their latest single “Simon Says,” off their repackaged album Regulate (out now), NCT 127 deliver a track that feels more reminiscent of the hypnotic, trap vibe of NCT’s debut, “The 7th Sense.”
Bass-heavy beats, layered production, and charismatic swagger have become hallmarks of NCT 127’s discography, and “Simon Says” has all of that in spades. It’s a commanding hip-hop track that opens with a traditional Maori haka war cry — a challenge to opponents — and ends with rapper Mark casually singing “we don’t pay no attention.” The striking visual and intricate choreography are just as intimidating:
And while the 10-member group lean heavily toward hip-hop — led by magnetic rappers and dynamic duo Taeyong and Mark — it wouldn’t be a proper NCT comeback without a powerful showing from the vocal line — particularly Taeil and Haechan, who truly get to flex on the bridge. (I’m breathless just thinking about Taeil hitting that extended high note.)
“Simon Says” is the lead single off Regulate, a repackage of their first full-length album, Regular-Irregular. Lyrically, the song stays true to the album’s concept, which flows between two states: reality and fantasy. On “Simon Says,” NCT 127 ask listeners to embrace their authentic selves instead of doing whatever society tells them to do and acting the way society tells them to act, just like a game of Simon Says.
Regulate also features the playful and melodic new song “Welcome To My Playground,” as well as the long-awaited Korean version of their Japanese single “Chain.” Better yet: It’s all available to stream now.
With “Simon Says,” NCT 127 stay true to themselves as artists and entertainers with a wholly original track about the power of individuality. And while the experimental group have yet to produce a smash hit in their native Korea, they don’t seem bothered by it. In fact, it seems to be positively fueling their creative decisions.
If there’s one thing to be said for this garbage year, it’s that at least it gave us Gritty.
Terrifying yet endearing, with wild eyes and a wide fixed grin, the orange mascot may have begun life as a Philadelphia Flyers mascot, but he’s since grown into so much more. He’s a meme, a Halloween costume, an antifa icon—to put it simply, Gritty is the gift that keeps on giving.
And there’s certainly no reason for that to stop now that we’re in the season of giving. Gritty was made for Christmas! Christmas was made for Gritty! So without further ado, we present to you the 12 days of Gritty.
On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…
12 Grittys grumping…
Honestly tho, Gritty would never.
Image: BOB AL-GREENE / MASHABLE
… 11 Grittys gliding…
The Grits of Gritmas past!
Image: BOB AL-GREENE / MASHABLE
… 10 Grittys pranking…
Gritty is gonna fuck shit up.
Image: BOB AL-GREENE / MASHABLE
… 9 Grits believing…
Gritty is real.
Image: BOB AL-GREENE / MASHABLE
… 8 Grits a-gifting…
“You’ll shoot your terrifying googly eye out!”
Image: BOB AL-GREENE / MASHABLE
… 7 Grits regretting…
James Stewart gets it.
Image: BOB AL-GREENE / MASHABLE
… 6 Grits escaping…
This one is for all you “Die Hard is a Christmas movie” people.
Image: BOB AL-GREENE / MASHABLE
… 5 orange flings…
Gritty wouldn’t have picked up the phone. We’re just saying.
Image: BOB AL-GREENE / MASHABLE
… 4 Gritty firs…
The true meaning of Christmas… is Gritty.
Image: BOB AL-GREENE / MASHABLE
… 3 Grit friends…
Will Ferrell’s fixed smile has nothing on Gritty’s.
Every product here is independently selected by Mashable journalists. If you buy something featured, we may earn an affiliate commission which helps support our work.
Black Friday — the day after Thanksgiving dedicated to serious shopping and sales — is perhaps the most chaotic of the year.
But you know what? You don’t have to spend it shopping just because a bunch of other people do. Sure you can score some pretty sweet deals on Nov. 23, but if you’re not a fan of long lines and crowds, stress, or simply don’t enjoy shopping, don’t feel pressured to take part in the tradition.
If you happen to have the day off from work, which many do, there are a bunch of other fun and productive things to do besides walking up at 4:00 a.m. to wait outside the mall or spending hours scrolling through Amazon.
Can’t figure out how exactly you want to spend the day? Have no fear. We’ve compiled a list of 40 alternative activities to do on Black Friday that are not shopping.
1. Eat all the Thanksgiving leftovers
Second Thanksgiving!
Image: SHUTTERSTOCK / BRENT HOFACKER
2. Do some autumn cleaning (Like spring cleaning but the air outside is more brisk)
3. Throw yourself into the upcoming holidays and DECORATE
4. Finally listen to Christmas music (because that’s a socially acceptable thing to do after Thanksgiving)
5. Celebrate the two-year anniversary of Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life with a re-watch
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Daily Trends Hunter 
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