Some spend the day opening gifts and stuffing themselves with turkey, while others volunteer at soups kitchens, sing in the church choir or take in a movie.

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Seeing the children bored with opening too many gifts and wandering away before finished, reinforced that less was more.

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Judging from the negative reaction among those who used to enjoy being first in line on midnight of Black Friday to scoop up bargain-priced gifts, this wave of earlier and earlier store opening hours has crossed the line.

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So, like NCAA rule breakers, credit card companies are offering gifts to recruits with high credit scores in return for opening new cards.

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