Not everyone's crazy about shopping today

For some, shopping in the wee hours of the morning the day after Thanksgiving is a tradition and a bit of a nutty adventure. For others it's bizarre, meaningless or just not worth it.

"It seems to me that shopping is only secondary to the madness, and the primary motivator . . . is to be first at something and first to get something, and I don't think the something is all that important either," said Sharyn DiGeronimo, 47, of Selden, who has gone back to school to eventually become a physician assistant. "Being first at shopping is not my idea of a meaningful endeavor."

Many shoppers still are budgeting as they continue to feel the pains of the tough economy, but the savings do not outweigh the inconvenience and aggravation of lining up in the cold, hours before store openings, and battling traffic and crowds for a limited supply of discounted items.

Even before budgeting was the trend, Carol Kolakowski, 72, and her family decided "the excess was kind of getting out of hand," she said. The family now picks names out of a hat for a gift exchange among the adults and limits the number of presents they give to the children. So camping out on Thanksgiving Day to buy one item on sale is a little bit "crazy," as she put it.

"The stores always have sales," said Kolakowski of Melville, "and I enjoy Christmas when it's the Christmas season, not Thanksgiving time."

Conditioned by the steady drumbeat of holiday sales that began weeks ahead of Black Friday, many like Kolakowski don't share any sense of urgency that the bargains will suddenly stop. And many say they've already done much of their holiday shopping online.

"You do not have to leave your house to have an incredibly happy holiday and save money at the same time," said Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst for the NPD Group, a Port Washington market research firm. "I could order Christmas dinner, Thanksgiving dinner, five golden rings, 10 lords a leaping, all can be done at the comfort of my desk."

Then there is the Rev. Lawrence Duncklee, pastor of Our Lady of Good Counsel Church, who has been advocating a different tack. For 25 years, he has handed out a list of charitable organizations and groups selling fair trade items made by cooperatives in developing countries and suggested that people make a donation in someone's name or buy fair trade items like coffee, tea or handcrafted items as gifts.