"Best Friday-After-Thanksgiving Sales in Hattiesburg, Mississippi"

Each year, I think black Friday gets better and better. I always end up waiting on the really"hot" items until the next year because there seems to be less of a demand for them. This year, however, there are some deals I just won't be able to pass up! Just be prepared to rise and shine a little earlier than usual if you want to be among the few who get those deals. I have always noticed that all the stores seem to open at the same time, so you really have to pick and choose what you REALLY want to get or you won't get anything. The day the papers come out, sit down and map out a plan of where to go and what you want to get. This is the best way to shop the early specials. The all day specials can be last on your list and you can backtrack to get them. The following is a listing of some of the stores in the Hattiesburg, MS area opening early, and the links to the ads that have been leaked and posted online:

Sears - Sears store opens at 5 am for some great early bird specials until 11 am. The first 200 customers will receive a FREE $10 gift card to spend. You may have to get there extra early to stand in line for it, so you'll need to plan out your morning well in advance to make all of your stops. http://bfads.net/store/sears

Toys R Us - Now this store is always busy the day after Thanksgiving. The store here has been known to pass out coffee and doughnuts to those standing in line waiting to get in. If you don't arrive early, be prepared to stand in a long checkout line later in the day. If you are one of those early risers, you will find you can get in and out a lot quicker if you know what you are looking for. Follow this link to find out what they will be offering: http://blackfriday.gottadeal.com/Sales/Store/toysrus

Wal-Mart - Now Wal-Mart always starts putting items out for sale earlier than what you think. If you aren't there at midnight or one in the morning, you may find that they have sold out of what you are looking for. Some items require that you get a number or pull a ticket for them, so be sure to find out as soon as you arrive at the store or you may miss out. One thing Wal-Mart has done differently this year is to start their big sales earlier. The first week of November they offered a laptop computer for $398. In our store, there were only 49 of them, and you had to have a number for it. If you didn't get there by midnight, you missed out. I never can understand that.....they don't have enough stock to run a sale all week, so why advertise it all week? Here is the link to what should be on sale on Black Friday: http://blackfriday.gottadeal.com/Sales/Store/walmart

Target - Target has followed suit and started the holiday shopping with earlier sales, but they will always have some great goodies the day of the big sale. This will be the second year that Target has been open for Christmas in Hattiesburg. The lines will be long because of this, but the bargains will probably be well worth it! Here is a link to find out what should be on sale: http://blackfriday.gottadeal.com/Sales/Store/target

Circuit City - For the electronic lover in the family, this is a great place to start. They always offer great deals on televisions and computers for early birds. You will have to stand in line (from my past experiences), so get there early! Check out the ad: http://blackfriday.gottadeal.com/Sales/Store/circuitcity

There are so many more stores that will open early on this wonderful, but VERY BUSY, shopping day. You will just have to check your papers for times, since most don't post that information until the last minute. Most of the time, the stores may offer extra coupons or gift cards to the first few hundred shoppers to try to draw you to their store. If your most important items are not at those stores, I wouldn't suggest trying to get there to get the gift card or coupon..... you may risk losing out on the deal you really want! Just remember, you need a plan and it needs to be mapped out as much as possible if you plan on getting the best deals of the day. Good luck and happy hunting!