Ways to enjoy Black Friday and Cyber Monday (with or without shopping) 

Carousels and Santas are among the holiday offerings at Bloomingdale’s White Plains.

Black Friday, the traditional start to the holiday shopping season, is once again upon us. And, once again, the forecast is Grinch-like. 

The National Retail Federation predicts U.S. holiday sales to rise at the slowest pace in five years, due to credit card debt, higher interest rates and depleted pandemic-era savings. Bellwethers Target and Walmart agree, with Target observing a consumer pullback and Walmart forgoing seasonal hires.   

To draw people in, shopping centers continue to emphasize the experiential. Cross County Shopping Center has its annual Menorah Lighting at 6 p.m. Dec. 11; Santa photos (through Dec. 24); pop-up holiday ice skating rink (through Dec. 30); and holiday food truck market (through Jan. 7) as well as igloo seating from which to enjoy all the action. For more, visit crosscountycenter.com. 

Santa’s throne awaits at The Westchester in White Plains.  Photographs by Georgette Gouveia.

New this season at The Westchester in White Plains is a personalized, 15-minute, extended visit with Santa. Reservations for this elevated photo session are available for a limited time only through Dec.  8. For more,  click here.  Traditional photo packages are also available. This year, the official sponsor is Melissa & Doug. 

Santa Photo Experience reservations are available by clicking here. 

The Westchester will also host events with Santa this season including: 

In Stamford through Dec. 24, The Holiday Stroll Powered by Stamford Ford, organized by Ilario Altamura, partner at Parachute Concerts, turns Mill River Park into the proverbial winter wonderland. The Holiday Stroll – Drive to Give will be giving a deserving family $1,000 each week of the season leading up to Christmas. To nominate a family or individual, contact FordDriveToGive@gmail.com. And for tickets and more, visit here.   

With the holiday season comes an increase in scams as people shop online, especially on Cyber Monday, and donate. 

“Fraudsters are becoming increasingly clever as technology evolves, and during this busy shopping period, it provides the perfect opportunities to exploit the increased volume of transactions and potentially catch shoppers off guard,” said finance expert Michael Dinich, founder of Wealth of Geeks. “Most of the time, a cybercriminal’s motive is to steal a customer’s money or personal information such as bank details, login credentials, personal address.  

“Therefore, to protect themselves, shoppers should take steps to secure their online activities, such as using strong, unique passwords, enabling two-factor authentication, being cautious of phishing attempts and regularly monitoring their financial statements for any suspicious transactions.”