Black Representation During the Holiday

I joined a group on Facebook called Black Women Who Love Target. Yes, it’s a real group and has about 18K members. Honestly, the group is just for people to post their Target finds, everything from clothes and shoes to purses and decorations, and things for men and other accessories. I've also seen mention of deals and discounts.

I can’t remember when I joined the group or why, aside from the fact that I’m a black woman who loves Target, and it’s good to know that there are a lot of us out there. Good to know I’m not the only one giving them all my hard-earned money.

I like the group because I’m always interested to see what products different Targets have, and when something gets posted that I like I try to find it online. There are some lovely ladies in the group who include links to some of their finds, which eliminates a little bit of work on my end.

Most recently I saw a post about a Black Santa. The post said that member loves representation at Target and she also included a picture of her shopping cart which was filled with wrapping paper with Black Santas and Mrs. Clauses, gift tags with a Black Santa, Mrs. Claus and elves, and paper plates with a black Santa.

In the following week or so other members started posting their Black decoration finds and I loved it! Some of them even include links to the items they bought (because they're lovely ladies). Their posts included pictures of Black Santas on more wrapping paper, gift bags, socks, throw pillows, slippers, hand towels, Christmas cards, and t-shirts.

I haven’t been to Target in a week or two, so I’m not sure if mine has Black Santa and Mrs. Claus decorations but I definitely will be on the lookout when I go.

I already checked Target's website for Black decorations in the event that my store doesn't have any. They have a section on the site dedicated to Black Santas and I love it! Now if only they can offer more than 13 items.

Unfortunately, I didn't see the Black Santa and Mrs. Claus wrapping paper online, which I really want, so fingers crossed it's at my store. I also didn't see some other things like the gift bags or hand towels, which I wouldn't mind purchasing either.

Unlike a lot of my family and friends, I don't mind being in stores during the holidays. Online shopping in hella convenient and I do it nonstop but being in the stores during the holidays just adds to the holiday feels for me. (Plus, depending on the item I need to be in store to touch it, try it on, know the exact color, especially for jeans, purses, and shoes.)

I love Black Santas and Mrs. Clauses around the holidays. I love Black things, in general, year-round.

Growing up, my mom did an amazing job of stocking our house with Black things. There was Black representation everywhere I looked. During the holidays, we had cards, Christmas bags and Christmas paper with black characters and faces. I grew up on Black Christmas music, songs by amazing artists including The Temptations, Stevie Wonder, Donny Hathaway, The Jackson Five, and more. My absolute favorite Christmas song is Let It Snow by Boz II Men.

So I agree, shoutout to Target for the representation. Shoutout to stores and businesses with black decorations and representation in general.

I remember growing up, we had a black Mr. and Mrs. Claus, maybe about 2 feet tall. They both held candles and when pugged in, the arm with the hand holding the candle moved left to right. We had them for so long, they were a staple at Christmastime.

I remember getting older and them getting older and eventually not working quite as well and the challenge of finding replacement black Santas has been a larger challenge than it should be. We have yet to replace our sacred Mr. and Mrs. Claus but will not give up.

My mom did such a good job of stocking the home with Black entertainment that when I grew up I was shocked that black entertainment was so hard to fine. It wasn't so easy to find books with black characters and by black authors like my mom had provided. It was more of a challenge to find black dolls and action figures.

When I was young, we watched Black TV shows and sitcoms. We owned Black movies and CDs. However, the older I became, the more sparse Black entertainment became. I was fooled into thinking the world was as pro-black as my household, and I would have easy access to Black things. I was sorely mistaken. If anything, the world was the complete opposite.

This is why I smile a little wider and get a little more giddy when there is Black representation around me, whether it's in the form of TV shows, movies, books, music, etc.

Black owned businesses have recently started getting more recognition and I love that. My family and I have always tried to buy Black and always sought out blacked owned businesses, so shoutout to the internet and social media for giving them the exposure they deserve.

Shoutout to Black men and women just because.