The build-up to Thanksgiving felt bigger than ever this year. Maybe I’d been missing my family or aching for a long weekend. Or perhaps all of the Twin Cities Live pre-Thanksgiving segments had me ready for the best part of the holiday… the FOOD!

On Turkey Day we re-aired our Thanksgiving meal show where some of our favorite chefs made classic holiday essentials with their own flare. My Thanksgiving was spent in Luck, WI with my favorite chef, grandma Thelma.
After seeing all the magnificent dishes on the show and especially JML’s pies I wasn’t sure it would all measure up this year, but who was I kidding. I ate more this year than ever before… guilty!

After filling my face and napping a bit the night was just starting… Thanksgiving’s sister holiday Black Friday started early this year and for the first time ever I took part in the madness. No, I wasn’t diving for deals, I was with the TCL crew crashing the Black Friday shopping lines. Twin Cities Live took five limos to stores all over the metro to surprise shoppers waiting in line with treats and a chance to win a shopping spree on today’s show.

I got to ride in John’s limo to Targets, Best Buys, and Khol’s in Apple Valley and Bloomington. Every car was fully loaded with TCL gloves, candy canes, and a chance to win a shopping spree. Our pie guy John Micheal Lerma and John’s girlfriend Amy joined in with our promotion team to pump up the Black Friday lines. Megaphone in hand, John mingled with crowd as we passed out treats spreading some holiday cheer! We met a lot of Twin Cities Live fans and hopefully made some new ones.

It was a ton of fun rolling from one never-ending line to the next in a limo jam-packed with TCL gear, staff, and a whole lot of energy!  Overall, it was a great first Black Friday… or Thursday… experience.  But I’m not going to lie, after seeing multiple lines wrapped almost completely around Targets and Best Buys, I don’t think I’ll be fighting the crowds for Black Friday door busters anytime soon.

- Brittany Falkers, TCL Intern