November 29 presents the perfect excuse to get the credit card warmed up for Christmas with an unmissable variety of Black Friday deals to snap up. Here’s where to find them.
By Helen Brown
What is Black Friday?
Black Friday originated in America as a day of serious shopping after Thanksgiving. Taking place the Friday after the national holiday, it marks the start of the Christmas season with retailers taking advantage of the many people off work for Thanksgiving by slashing prices in stores and online. In recent years, we’ve jumped on the bandwagon with major UK retailers cutting prices on a huge range of items. For those that are organised, it’s ideally timed to get a headstart on Christmas shopping while making major savings. What follows is Cyber Monday, a continuum of online sales and discounts which came about after huge spikes in online sales where acknowledged on the Monday after Thanksgiving. This year, Black Friday falls on November 29 and Cyber Monday on December 2.
Where to shop…
Jewellery: Astrid & Miyu
From 9am on 26 November until 4 December Astrid & Miyu will be offering 25% off everything both online and in-store with no code needed (excluding piercings & tattoos). Use it as the perfect excuse to stock up on the gorgeous new Diamond Collection.
Beauty: Escentual
One-stop online beauty shop, Escentual is offering 50% off a range of top brands in make-up, skincare and fragrance. Half price deals start from Friday 29 November at 00.01am and run until Monday 2nd December at 11.59pm. Get ready to snap up a limited-edition collector’s version of Givenchy’s sought-after Le Rouge lipstick for £15.50 instead of the RRP £31.
Travel: Turquoise Holidays
If you’re looking to seriously treat yourself or your loved one this Christmas, a holiday to the Maldives should just about do it. Turquoise Holidays is offering 50% off a trip to Six Senses Laamu in the Maldives for anyone who books between 28 November and 2 December. Race you to the airport.
- Turquoise Holidays is offering 7 nights on a half board basis at Six Senses Laamu from £1,999 per person (based on two sharing a Lagoon Water Villa) including domestic and international economy flights with Sri Lankan Airlines. This price includes 50% off the accommodation price, complimentary half board dining and speedboat transfers. Guests travelling in the summer will also receive a complimentary sunset dolphin cruise
Miscellaneous: Amazon
Every year Amazon promises to one-up their Black Friday offering so for 2019 they’ve spread the event over a whopping eight whole days. They also declared Cyber Monday 2018 the single biggest shopping day in the company’s history, and it’s easy to see why. With everything from tech and toys to fashion, jewellery and home departments enjoying slashed prices for eight days from 00:01 on Friday 22 November until 23:59 on Friday 29 November., you’d be silly not to start here with your Christmas shopping.
Homeware: John Lewis
John Lewis has confirmed it will have a superb selection of deals across all departments but we love it for homeware and kitchen gadgets. Perfect if you’re shopping for the foodie in your life. Keep an eye on their Black Friday web page so as not to miss out.
Complete your festive shopping spree with London’s best Christmas lights!
