Giving Tuesday: A Chance to Give Back This Holiday Season

A handful of Twin Cities area nonprofits are among the nonprofits trying to encourage people to pause in their shopping and find a way to help others.

Will donating to charity ever be as popular as shopping during the holiday season? A partnership of nonprofits hopes so. For many people, the holiday shopping marathon began on Thanksgiving day, with some national chains opening their doors just hours after the traditional turkey dinner. Then comes Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday, which has morphed into Cyber Week. Now, there's a new campaign asking you to open your wallet—Giving Tuesday. The Giving Tuesday website says the effort, coming on the heels of days devoted to consumerism, is designed "to create a national day of giving at the start of the annual holiday season. It celebrates and encourages charitable activities that support nonprofit organizations." …

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Your Guide to the 2012 Holiday Season

A collection of stories, events and information to help you through the 2012 holiday season.

Best Buy Website Crashes Under Heavy 'Black Thursday' Traffic

Richfield-based Best Buy is experiencing a case of holiday deja vu, and it's not a good thing.

Countdown to Black Friday in Richfield

A ton of area stores are gearing up to kick off the holiday shopping season.

It’s the Super Bowl of shopping, the Oscars for retailers. It’s a time when below-the-radar soccer moms and soft-spoken grandpas take to the shopping cart raceways, weaving in and out of the throngs in search of the Holy Grail, that larger-than-life bargain. There’s a game plan, an emergency plan, and lots of coffee. It’s Black Friday! Black Friday hype increases every year, and this year, retailers are upping their game by opening earlier than ever. While Black Friday has traditionally begun the day after Thanksgiving, Wal-Mart was the first to announce they would be opening at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving to accommodate those shoppers looking for both great deals and a social experience. Now Target and Kmart have followed suit, opening Black …

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How Early is Too Early for Stores to Open on Black Friday?

Sears and Walmart plan to open at 8 p.m. Thanksgiving Day, while Target plans a 9 p.m. opening.

Retail workers and shoppers are once again pushing stores to stay closed on Thanksgiving Day instead of starting Black Friday on Thursday, as many plan to do. As previously reported by Patch, Target will launch its Black Friday sale at 9 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day, while Sears and Walmart have announced plans to open at 8 p.m. Meanwhile, Best Buy is continuing the midnight openings it started last year. Critics say Thanksgiving Day openings prevent employees from spending the holiday with their families. Opposition is growing on online petition website Change.org. “C Renee,” a woman who says she’s been a Target employee for six years, started a petition asking the retailer to “give Thanksgiving back to families and not open on Thanksgiving …

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Target to Open Thanksgiving Night for Black Friday Shopping

Hours may vary by location.

After its first ever midnight opening in 2011, Target announced that many of its stores would be opening at 9 p.m. on Thanksgiving, kicking off Black Friday a few hours early. According to Target's website, Black Friday hours may vary by location, but Richfield's store is slated to open Thanksgiving night and remain open until *11 p.m. Friday. Saturday the store will be open from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Some of the enticing deals and discounts include a Nook Simple Touch E-Reader for just $49, a Nikon L310 Digital Camera for $99.99 and a variety of DVDs ranging from $1 to $13.  According to the website, Thursday shopping will only run until 11 p.m. Friday. For more store locations and hours, visit target.com. Editor's Note: More information was …

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Black Friday, New Caribou and Burgers: West Metro Business Roundup

Are you wondering what businesses are opening or closing in the west metro or otherwise making the news? Here’s your update for October 2012.

The following is a collection of business related articles that recently appeared on Patch sites in Edina, Eden Prairie, Fridley, Golden Valley, Hopkins, Lake Minnetonka, Maple Grove, Minnetonka, Plymouth, Richfield, Southwest Minneapolis, St. Louis Park and St. Michael. Click on the headline to read the full story. Plans for New Golden Valley Gas Station, Retail Store Move Forward A BP Gas station upgrade and four new retail stores could come to Boone Avenue in Golden Valley if the City Council approves the final plans. Five Guys Burgers, Bruegger’s coming to Hopkins A Sprint store and a Fantastic Sams will also be moving into a retail center on the old BP site. Residents Respond To Walmart At Plymouth Meeting More than 50 people attended…

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The Biz Buzz

Best Buy to Continue Black Friday Midnight Opening 'Tradition'

After its first midnight opening on Black Friday 2011, Best Buy plans to do it again.

After a midnight opening on Black Friday in 2011, Best Buy announced it plans to do so again Monday evening. Last year's midnight Black Friday opening was the first in the company's history. Target, Macy's and more than 70 Mall of America stores were also a part of the midnight opening club last year. In addition to letting customers get an early start on their holiday shopping lists, Best Buy said in a press release it would also be hiring 24,000 seasonal employees across its stores. *** Do you like shopping at midnight on Black Friday? Would you rather retailers stuck with "early morning" rather than "late night" openings? Take the poll below and share your thoughts in the comments section. Follow Richfield Patch on Twitter | Like us …

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PHOTOS: Richfield Best Buy, Target Midnight Openings Draw Crowds

With the Richfield Target and Best Buy opening at midnight for Black Friday, local residents line up to get the first crack at the deals.

Richfield Best Buy was bustling with activity Thursday night as "Harry Potter" played on a big screen in the parking lot and free hot beverages were served up for the hundreds of customers who were standing in line waiting for Black Friday deals. Herme Garcia and his family were first in line. According to Garcia, he and his family got their spot at 8 p.m. Wednesday and were planning on getting a 42-inch LCD television once they got in the doors. Estimates from Best Buy event staff put the crowd at about 425 people around 10 p.m. Thursday but that number was on the rise fast as people kept coming into the parking lot, forcing the line of people to wind around the back of the store and down 77th Street to the west.  On the other side of …

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Editor's Notebook

'Midnight' Retailers Boast Great Black Friday Deals

Great deals can be found if shoppers get an early start.

Thousands of shoppers will flock to local businesses beginning at midnight Thursday to snatch up great Black Friday deals and, admittedly, I will be one of them! Richfield Target and Best Buy joined the ranks of those stores opening early and, in my opinion, boast great doorbuster deals. Here are a few items that shoppers have to look forward to if they decide to make a late-night shopping experience a go: For more Target Black Friday deals, click here. Prices good Nov. 25-26, 2011. (I'll be stocking up on the DVDs.) Best Buy has not released all the items and prices for its Black Friday sale. For more on Best Buy sales, click here. While Best Buy and Target are offering great doorbuster deals, don't forget about those local businesses …

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