Thursday, Nov. 24, 2011

What you can do on Black Friday if you don’t go shopping

Deck ehreDeck here

The Sun News file photo

Part of the Christmas decor at the home of Evy Markferding in Myrtle Beach. You don't have to shop on Black Friday - you can decorate your house for Christmas instead.

 

Some things to do

• Brookgreen Gardens ‘Signs of the Season’ exhibits

What | “Signs of the Season in Flora and Fauna” and “Signs of the Season in Art and History”

When | Friday-Jan. 2, during garden hours, 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m.

Where | Brookgreen Gardens, U.S. 17 across from Huntington Beach State Park

How much | Free with admission, which lasts seven days: $12 ages 13-64, $10 ages 65 and older, and $6 ages 4-12

Information | 235-6000, 800-849-1931 or www.brookgreen.org.

• Festival of Trees

When | Open 9 a.m. daily through Dec. 31

Where | Ripley’s Aquarium, Broadway at the Beach, off 29th Avenue North in Myrtle Beach

How much | Free with admission: $21.99 ages 12 and older, $10.99 ages 6-11, and $3.99 ages 2-5

Information | 916-0888, 800-734-8888 or www.ripleysaquarium.com

• Myrtle Beach SkyWheel

When | noon-11 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays, noon-10 p.m. Sundays-Thursdays

Where | 1110 N. Ocean Blvd., adjacent to Myrtle Beach’s Plyler Park, at Mr. Joe White Ave.

How much | $12 ages 12-64; $10 ages 65 and older and military (with valid ID); $8 ages 3-11; and free ages 2 and younger.

Information | 839-9200 or www.skywheelusa.com

• Nascar Speedpark

When | 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday and Saturdays-Sundays through Dec. 18, and Dec. 24 and 26-31

Where | 1820 21st Ave. N. Extension, at U.S. 17 Bypass, Myrtle Beach, across from the Palace Theatre and Broadway at the Beach

How much (plus tax) | Free admission; price options for rides include a wristband $32.99 (or $19.99 online, good through Dec. 16); fall pass $59.99, good through Dec. 16; and individual rides $3.50-$10.

Information | 918-8725 or nascarspeedpark.com/sc.aspx

Christmas lists don’t have to be just for checking off items to give others. They also can yield a choice of many things to do to give yourself. Thanksgiving and the day after, now known as Black Friday, is the perfect time to reward yourself with time spent with loved ones.

If you plan on avoiding the rush to stores, many other options abound on how you can spend the long weekend, whether you want to stay at home or get out and start the holiday season off on the right foot.

If you go out

•  ART EXHIBITS | Franklin G. Burroughs-Simeon B. Chapin Art Museum has three exhibits continuing through the end of the year, each with its own rhythm, and Brookgreen Gardens unveils two ‘Signs of the Season’ displays through Jan. 2. See more details on the right side of this page.

•  FESTIVAL OF TREES | Get inspired by Ripley’s Aquarium’s annual decking of the halls. Every year the aquarium puts up one tree decorated for each U.S. state, including the District of Columbia. Find your home state’s tree and flag while also taking in all the sea life the aquarium offers year round.

•  GO TO THE MOVIES | Hitting the movie theater to catch a new holiday flick is a good way to get into the Christmas spirit.

Choose from six area theaters: the Carmike 16 at Broadway at the Beach, Cinemark at Coastal Grand mall, and Grand 14 Cinema at The Market Common, all in Myrtle Beach; Carmike Colonial 12 at Myrtle Beach mall, near Briarcliffe Acres; and Frank Theatres’ Rivertowne Stadium 12 in Conway, Inlet 11 at Inlet Square in Murrells Inlet, and Coastal Cinemas 12 in Shallotte, N.C. See Page 10 for a review of “Hugo,” which releases Friday, and Page 11 for a list of what is playing at these area theaters.

•  TAKE A RIDE | If you’re looking for a little bit of thrill after a day of sitting around, watching TV and eating turkey, get out and take a ride. The Myrtle Beach SkyWheel and Nascar Speedpark, both in Myrtle Beach, have seasonal hours, for flying high and at high speed, respectively.

If you stay in

Shopping isn’t for everyone. Especially the kind of crazed shopping you can expect on Black Friday, with folks rushing to snap up the once-in-a-year deals and unbelievable prices.

If you have no desire to fight the crowds on Friday, or to even sit in traffic trying to get to the movies or a holiday exhibit, try some of these tried and true ideas to keep the whole family entertained without stepping a foot out of your house.

• DECORATE | With Thanksgiving in your rear-view mirror and Christmas staring you in the face, the time is now to break out all your Christmas decorations and deck the halls.

Dig your boxes of decor out of the attic or garage or whatever closet you managed to fit them in last year and spend the whole day going through them. Find out what you don’t want anymore, what doesn’t work and what you want to keep, and divide them into piles.

If what is in the doesn’t work pile isn’t fixable, toss it. Box back up the stuff you don’t want anymore to donate to a Goodwill store or to pass along to someone else who may find new use for your old decorations.

Next, get to decorating. It’s easiest to go room by room, saving the tree for last. If you buy a fresh tree every year, you might want to wait until the following week to go pick out your evergreen so you’re not fighting the shopping traffic.

If you get done with the inside of the house and still have some daylight left, go ahead and tackle the outdoors, too. You’ll probably be among the first in the neighborhood to have your house and yard all ready for the holidays.

Once you’re finished, you may find some spots or rooms in your home that could use a bit more cheer. Make a list of decorations you think you need for each room. You can either head out next week to pick them up or, to save money, wait until January when all the holiday garb goes on sale.

• LEFTOVERS | The meal the day after Thanksgiving is often just as good as the Thanksgiving feast itself. If you’re lucky enough to have lots of leftovers (and can still stand the sight of your kitchen), why not try some new recipes with your leftovers?

Let’s face it: Eating plain old turkey day after day gets boring, and by the time Christmas comes around you won’t feel like eating more. Try some of these recipe ideas from foodnetwork.com to reinvent turkey and any other Thanksgiving Day leftovers you may have.

• Turkey Pot Pie, to reuse leftover turkey and other veggies.

• Turkey Soup, to reuse leftover turkey and other veggies.

• Turkey and Sweet Potato Quesadillas, to reuse leftover turkey and sweet potatoes.

• Mashed Potatoes au Gratin, to reuse leftover mashed potatoes.

• Day-After Dip, to reuse leftover sweet potatoes.

• Pumpkin Parfaits, to reuse leftover pumpkin pie and ice cream.

•  A DAY OF GAMES | If you’ve got family and friends in town, there’s no better way to spend the day after Thanksgiving than by participating in some good old-fashioned competition.

Spend the whole day playing a smorgasboard of games, whether they be outdoor games, video games or board games.

Start off by setting the ground rules: Split up into teams, name captains, pick how many games you’ll play, which games you’ll play, and be sure to come up with a tiebreaker rule, should one be necessary. Also decide on what the winner gets, or what the loser has to do (like prepare a dinner for everyone using leftovers).

If the weather is accomodating, plan both outdoor games to get your blood pumping. You can try a game of touch football, play a game of cornhole or throw some horsehoes. You could even go old-school and play a game of capture the flag or red rover.

Indoors, the opportunities are equally as endless. Break out the board games or classics like Charades. However, if you have younger kids or teens in the group, they might be more inclined to participate if you include video games.

If you have a person or two who doesn’t want (or is physically unable) to participate, keep them involved by asking them to take pictures or shoot video of the various festivities. You’ll definitely want memories and keepsakes from this day of fun.

• JUST TAKE IT EASY | If you were hoping for a quieter day after the busy and loud Thanksgiving Day, treat yourself to a day of relaxation.

Feel free to sleep in (which all those folks who hit the stores for Black Friday sure didn’t get to do), make a late breakfast or brunch, and spend the day catching up on your leisure reading or watching some movies.

You can also start getting your Christmas lists together, both your personal wish list and what you’re planning to get others. This will help you get organized as Christmas nears and will eliminate any worry the week or days before the big day about what you’re going to get your in-laws or other folks on your “nice’ list.

Reach CAROLINE EVANS at 626-0244 or STEVE PALISIN at 444-1764.