This year in our retail stores, we’re collecting toys for those in need this holiday season. As an extra incentive, if you bring in a new toy between 11/23 – 12/23, you’ll get $15 to spend toward a $50 purchase. You must use the coupon the same day you bring your toy.

In both our Waitsfield and S. Burlington locations, we’ll be taking donations for the Rutland County Women’s Network. In our Manchester location, all toy donations will benefit the YWCA.

If you’re in the area, bring by a new toy for a child in need, and perhaps take care of some of your holiday shopping list at the same time!

Today, 11/23, we’re going full-throttle into holiday mode. It’s “Black Friday,” as Don mentioned, and by the time you get this, our Manchester store will likely have been open for 8+ hours. Our S. Burlington store opened at 5am today, and our Waitsfield store at 10am.

For those of you steering clear of brick-and-mortar stores today, we invite you to shop online at “*Smalldog.com/holiday.*”:http://www.smalldog.com/holiday

Among the specials we have in store are Mac bundles, savings on select Adobe products (Lightroom, Photoshop Elements and Premiere included), 10% off Beats by Dr. Dre for a limited time, 50% off Chill Pill mobile speakers all weekend long through 11/26, and other savings on brands like G-Tech, LaCie, Sennheiser, Parallels and more.

Don’t forget that we have ample stock of some awesome Apple refurbished Macs, which are over $900 off their original prices. Imagine — you could give (or get!) a new 17-inch MacBook Pro for $1349.99! (Add AppleCare and a hard drive to it, and you’ll get a $25 Small Dog gift card!)

Plus, we’ll have some extra deals starting on Cyber Monday, so be sure to check back.

Dear Friends,

Did you have enough turkey? Every day this fall, I drive by our neighbor’s farm on the way to work and a few dozen wild turkeys are grazing in the harvested corn field. Wild turkeys have had a tremendous resurgence in Vermont over the past few years. In fact, a local newspaper, while reporting on the recent election, pointed out that nearly all of the candidates that went door-to-door seeking votes had been bitten by Wild Tom Turkeys.

Turkeys and being thankful give way to shopping as the Black Friday shopping frenzy begins.

This year, we have extended hours and some great specials for Small Dog Electronics customers. Our store in the Mall of New Hampshire will actually be open at midnight because the Mall is requiring all stores to be open. I wrote a letter in protest and questioned the wisdom of stealing my employees’ Thanksgiving evening to no avail. It was, before the days of the internet, the day that retailers moved from operating in the “red” (aka losing money) to operating in the “black” (aka turning a profit). It has become something totally different now, with price cutting and a race to see who can open earliest. I don’t much like it, but we have chosen to be in the retail game.

Monday is called Cyber Monday because supposedly that is the day after the 4-day weekend that customers rush back to work where they have high-speed internet and do all their online shopping. I think that is changing, too, as more and more customers have broadband at home.

Nevertheless, I want to wish you and your family a Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at Small Dog Electronics! We have a lot to be thankful for and look forward to seeing you online or at our stores this holiday season!