Black Friday is actually a whole lot less horrible than it might sound. There is nothing sinister about Black Friday at all, though if you don’t like crowds or spending money it might be a pretty scary prospect.

Black Friday takes place the day after Thanksgiving in America, and is generally thought to mark the start of the Christmas shopping season. While the day isn’t a federal holiday, it is often given as a day off to workers and schoolchildren to allow them to make the most of the full Thanksgiving weekend.

It is a day which signifies a huge spike in spending, as many shops slash prices vastly to encourage a spending frenzy, and many promotional offers will run, including free gifts, giant discounts and extra savings for the first 100 customers, meaning people start queuing hours before shops open.

It gives shoppers the chance to buy electronics, clothing, homeware and many other typically premium products at significantly reduced prices, meaning it is the biggest spending day in the US.

The day following Thanksgiving weekend has been known as Cyber Monday for some years, and refers to the spike in online shopping that takes place. Those who didn’t find what they were looking for in the Black Friday sales or who were busy with family over the weekend take to the internet to scour the sales instead.

If you have asked your friends and relatives in the US to look out for bargains for you, make sure they use the RAND quote finder to send their parcels to the UK.