Black Friday in Oklahoma City: Where to Find the Best Friday-After-Thanksgiving Sales

Black Friday is often associated with rushed shopping, long lines and good deals in preparation for the coming holiday season. Based on information gathered from the TeleCheck Retail Index, sales in the southwest region of the states rose by 2.6 percent on average last year, yielding a 2.7 percent increase in Oklahoma customer traffic. Black Friday, the day after thanksgiving, is a typical time for people to use their thanksgiving breaks to do some pre-Christmas scouting for gifts, while the highest amount of actual sales is reserved for Christmas eve.

There is never a shopping center shortage in Oklahoma, especially in the growing Edmond suburb I live in. Just a few blocks from my house I've seen dozens of shopping centers and new stores open up just in the past few years. Economic growth has been flourishing in Oklahoma, along with the culture, bringing new and exciting businesses worth checking out.

One of my favorite places to visit is Full Circle Bookstore, located a little way down the highway to downtown. Not far from the famous 'Brick Town', off Northwest Expressway, you may come across a little nook nestled among the multiplying metropolitan buildings. Entering the bookstore you are confronted with a comfortable and sparsely crowded atmosphere. The employees are all smiles and very helpful in finding any book, manuscript or magazine your holiday hearts may desire, and so much more. Free coffee is offered at the establishment to help stimulate the creative mind and conversation, while a wide array of books- both well known and undiscovered- sit ready to be bought or just read.

The small Java Joe's Coffee Bar at Full Circle Bookstore offers other treats to fill the stomach with soups, salads and sandwiches or more coffee flavors for the avid caffeine fans. Regular readings, book signings and musical guests frequent the homely business, offering a little more than the usual book seller. Recently, on October, 13th, KGOU reporter for the regional NPR radio visited Full Circle to sign his new book Uncivilized Beasts and Shameless Hellions: Travels with an NPR Correspondent. Parents can bring their little ones for Children's Storytime on Saturdays to enjoy familiar classics or a new story on the shelves. On particular Sundays you can listen to local poets pour their thoughts for any visitors willing to lend an ear. This upcoming Saturday, on the 10th, a group of local performers will host a Celtic Jam Session at 7 P.M. and anyone is encouraged to check it out.

Full Circle has grown since it's 30 years in the business and is now the largest independent bookseller in Oklahoma. The store houses over 60,000 titles without any discretion toward title, theme or motif. If for some reason the store does not carry the title you are looking for, Full Circle Bookstore is happy to search and order the item at any time. An array of local writers are also on shelf at full circle, giving emerging artists the chance to get their names and ideas to the public. Great incentives are also offered to regular visitors and $30 dollar gift certificates are given for every $200 dollars spent. Rather you are looking for a good literary magazine, an old classic, or maybe a comfortable loitering spot to talk to friends, Full Circle Book Store is the place to go.