For one Southport family, splitting up is the only way to get all of their shopping done on Black Friday.
Christine Campbell and another dozen family members had their shopping planned out ahead of time. Some family members were at Greenwood Park Mall, and others were spread out at other stores, including Walmart, ready to rush in and grab the best deals once the stores opened Thursday evening. They had lists ready of what they needed from each store, after taking time to scour through ads searching for the best deals.
“We try to get Christmas shopping done in one day,” she said.
Shopping together as a family on Black Friday weekend has been a tradition as far back as she can recall, Campbell said. She remembers going shopping with her grandmother, looking for cabbage patch dolls, a popular gift in the 1980s.
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryThey didn’t plan to get any sleep Thursday night, with their next stop at Edinburgh Premium Outlets, she said.
For 11-year-old Lauren Denney, this was her first year shopping Black Friday weekend with her mother, Debbie Ashman.
They began their shopping Thursday morning at Meijer, which had deals available right away at 6 a.m. While the pair has already shopped for Lauren’s Christmas presents, she’ll still have to wait until Christmas to get them.
“It’s been a lot of fun,” Denney said. “It hasn’t been as crazy as I thought it would be.”
Ashman liked coming out to shop Thursday because it hasn’t been as crazy as Black Friday shopping in past years.
Shoppers counted down from 10 to zero and cheered as the gates opened up to let them inside Greenwood Park Mall at 6 p.m. Thursday. Eager shoppers had waited outside the mall until 5 p.m., when they were let inside to line up in front of individual stores.
Toriana Duerson, of Greenwood, was the first in line at the Pink store, after getting to the mall at 2 p.m. Thursday.
For Sophie Ashman, who has worked at Torrid inside the mall for three years, Black Friday weekend is always crazy, she said. She worked both Thursday and Friday, spending most of her time helping customers. The days are nonstop busy, and as soon as she finishes with one customer, another is waiting for her help, she said.
“It’s crazy,” she said. “We’re always dashing to the back to grab stuff for customers.”
