Fun Friday - a new thing

I have to be honest, I’ve never been particularly comfortable with the idea of Black Friday. Please don’t misunderstand me – I love a bargain more than most people and have no issue with saving money by buying something you need on a day when it’s cheaper than it would normally be.  But I’m just not sure about the consequences of having a day set aside for it.

Fights in the shops over the last TV in the pile were hard to watch on the news a couple of years ago. And I find myself having to delete the emails that keep pinging into my inbox this week, so I don’t get distracted by that brilliant deal on the juice extractor, or grooming set, or rowing machine or <insert any number of other items that I neither want nor would ever use here>.

It’s not the bagging a bargain that I object to (I’m a student again, don’t forget! To misquote Matt Smith’s Dr Who – "Bargains are cool…") but I don’t think I’m the only one shifting uncomfortably in my seat at the way we seem to have made an idol of the Good Deal. Persuading people to part with money they may not have for things that probably don’t want or need just because it’s that day when we do that.

On Twitter today I have found some kindred spirits, one of whom suggested coming up with a new thing to replace Black Friday -  Fun Friday. I love this, especially after a fairly full-on and tricky few weeks. It just has so much scope.

So I’ve started to come up with some ideas for how it might work…..

My Guidelines for Fun Friday:
  1. Don’t wear black. Let’s stand out with some colour!
  2. Smile. A lot. Even if it feels hard at first, if we can find stuff/people to smile at then we’re bound to feel more fun. (It also makes people wonder what you’re up to, which is just an added bonus).
  3. Have a good, long wallow in the things, however small, that have made you feel good this week. Mine this week would include getting my essay in a good few days before the deadline, receiving really encouraging feedback from people about my sermon last Sunday, having a great walk with my lovely college formation group, talking and laughing with GiraffeBoy and SmallBoy, even though it hasn’t been the most straightforward of weeks. All lovely.
  4. Choose to do things that you enjoy today.  I am writing this blog right now, I will be planning some Christmas music later and mostly starting to think about my next college assignment on Church History, which is a gift for a geek like me.
  5. Choose to remain cheerful, even in the less-enjoyable tasks of the day. I promise I will practise my Greek noun declensions cheerfully!
  6. Do some silly stuff in amongst the important things. So far today, I have already named my top 3 French cheeses as part of a friend’s Facebook conversation and thought through how to reattach the tassel to my Fez…. I already feel like I’m winning at life and it’s not even 10am.
  7. Be kind and friendly – make the day more fun for the people we meet along the way. Choose to love them, rather than be annoyed by them. Instead of trampling over them, give way. I know it’s not always that easy but it’s got to be worth a try, right? And I’m pretty sure Jesus had something to say about it too….  

 So there we go. Fun Friday. It’s my new thing. I’m wondering if I can keep it up all week - maybe all year round. Whatever I do, I want to become the kind of person that makes life more fun. Who’s with me?

You thought I was joking about the fez, didn't you......?


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