Black Friday is usually the Friday after Thanksgiving.   This year in 2009 we are seeing retailers starting their Black Friday promotions and deals early.  There are a few reasons for this.  The major one is the recession.  Stores are afraid they are not going to get as many shoppers in the store so they are hoping to entice them with deals on what they consider hot items.  This is good news for us the buyers because prices will be lower.  The other reason is that due to the way the calendar falls there only 4 shopping weekends this year.  That is why you see stores like Best Buy and Sears other major retailers offering deals starting as early as this weekend or Monday.

The good news is that you may be able to get your Christmas gift shopping done early.  You also need to be careful this year because according to reports on CNBC retailers are not stocking up as much as last year.  Last year they were burned with lots of inventory that they practically had to give away at the end of the shopping season.  This year you may find hot toys and gifts being sold out much earlier so if you have one of those on your list shop early!

In the past few years more visibility has been given to the dangers of high levels of lead in certain toys.  The website that attempts to test and track results for a variety of chemicals in toys is HealthyStuff.org.  They actually test more than just toys so here is the direct link to the toy section that allows you to search for toys in their database.  They actually put out a list of toys each year.  Their 2009 list does not seem to be out yet.

The other site that provides general safety data for toys is ToySafety.org which has come up with their 10 Worst List for 2009.  Those toys would probably make for bad choices for gifts.  Not everyone agrees with how either of these organizations come up with their lists but as a gift giver you definitely don't want to give toys that will be thought unsafe by the parents involved.  The 10 Worst Toy list has been generated since 1973 and has helped determine improvements in the manufacturing of toys.