Hi. Barb here.

In Boothbay Harbor, on the Saturday before Thanksgiving every year, all the shops open at 6:00 am and have big sales and everyone shops in their pajamas.

Really.

Those of you who know me may be surprised that I was there, given that I don’t like a) early, b) birds, c) sales, d) crowds and e) wearing costumes.  So it kind of sounds like hell on earth for me, amirite?

But I have to admit, it’s kind of genius. The shops, many of which will close down for the season at the end of the weekend, get one more chance to unload their merchandise. Local people get to shop for the holidays at tourist-focused stores downtown that they don’t enter from one end of the year to the next, and people do come in from out of town for one last gasp of the season. Families treat it like a happy, relaxed time together, before the craziness of the holidays truly begins, enjoying breakfast out and Bloody Marys.

Genius.

The stores set their own rules.  Some have progressive sales—40% off at 6:00 am, 30% at 7:00, etc.  Some give a greater discount to people wearing their pjs. Some stop their sales at 9:00 or 10:00 am and some go all day.

After the sales, people gather at the library for a pajama parade and later in the morning, there are bed races. Everyone’s home to rejoin their normal weekend routine by lunch.

Genius.