By Susan and Biff Andrews

It has started already. The kids are still sticky with Halloween candy, and the retailers are shouting that there are only a few more shopping days left until Christmas.

Let the shopping frenzy begin! But wait….

There comes a voice, literally from the wilderness: REI, a national retailer of recreational clothing and equipment, has announced it will not take part in the Black Friday insanity.

In a campaign to encourage folks to start a Thanksgiving tradition to get outdoors, rather than shop, they will close all of their stores, including online shopping, the day after Thanksgiving.

They are giving their 12,000 employees paid leave to take the day off and spend it in nature, thereby challenging the rest of us not to buy anything on Black Friday and get outside with our families, too.

They are asking people to share their outdoor activities on social media through #OptOutside and are offering ideas for recreational alternatives in your ZIP code on their website.

Now, we all know this is an advertising gimmick from a retailer, and there is surely some marketing method to their madness. But the fact of the matter is we’ve got enough stuff. Most of us are overstuffed, stressed out and out of shape, and so are our kids. We could take one day back from the retail giants to enjoy the great outdoors with our families.

Connection with the outside world is an essential part of being a healthy person, whether one is a child or an adult. Humans are part of the natural world, and it is imperative for our health and well being to spend time outside.

A Kaiser Family Foundation study found that young people spend about 53 hours a week, roughly an average of seven hours per day, using some type of electronic media. The National Wildlife Federation reports that the average American child spends as little as 30 minutes in unstructured outdoor play daily.

Childhood obesity rates have doubled in the last 20 years, the United States has become the largest consumer of ADHD medications in the world and prescriptions for pediatric antidepressants are rising sharply.

Sounds like some fresh air might do us a world of good.

We’d like to offer you some ideas for getting outside, whether or not you shop on Black Friday, and we don’t even need to know your ZIP code: We’re in your ZIP code.

Here are our favorites right in Suffolk:

• Lone Star Lakes
• Bennett’s Creek Park
• Lake Meade Park
• Sleepy Hole Park
• Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge

For some other local options, pick up the booklet “Guide to Suffolk’s Walking Trails.”

Further afield, Virginia State Parks have 36 parks and more than 500 miles of trails, as well as boating, biking, camping, fishing, equestrian, geocaching and much more.

Visit www.dcr.virginia.gov/state-parks for more information.

And finally, in a lead-up to the 100th birthday of the National Park Service, the “Every Kid in a Park” initiative provides all fourth-grade students and their families with free admission to national parks and other federal lands and waters for a full year.

Visit www.everykidinapark.gov.

for more information, including lesson plans and field trip guides for teachers.

We hope you get outside and enjoy the wonders and beauty of the great outdoors every day, even if it is just a walk around your own back yard. Get the kids out there; take the dog, too. Breathe deeply and count your blessings, instead of shopping days.

And if you get a chance to take some good selfies while you’re out there having fun, email them to news@suffolklivingmag.com, and show us your smile!

Susan and Bradford “Biff” Andrews are retired teachers and master naturalists who have been outdoor people all their lives, exploring and enjoying the woods, swamps, rivers and beaches throughout the region for many years. Email them at b.andrews22@live.com.