Midnight Madness: The Sights of Black Friday

After a day of stuffing their bellies, many area shoppers are out stuffing their shopping carts.

By Abby Buckles
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November 25, 2011

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10:53 PM: Brother and sister shopping duo, Damien Mantia (left) and Kurstin Mantia (right), drove from Warrenton to pitch their tent Tuesday at noon outside St. Peters Best Buy. The two take shifts while going to their grandmother’s to warm up and eat Thanksgiving dinner with family. They have their sights set on a $200 deal on a flatscreen and a 15.6” laptop which they say gets dispersed amongst their family as Christmas gifts. The Mantia’s said they’re not the only ones; they also have family waiting in line at Walmart and Toys R Us.

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10:53 PM: Brother and sister shopping duo, Damien Mantia (left) and Kurstin Mantia (right), drove from Warrenton to pitch their tent Tuesday at noon outside St. Peters Best Buy. The two take shifts while going to their grandmother’s to warm up and eat Thanksgiving dinner with family. They have their sights set on a $200 deal on a flatscreen and a 15.6” laptop which they say gets dispersed amongst their family as Christmas gifts. The Mantia’s said they’re not the only ones; they also have family waiting in line at Walmart and Toys R Us.

Credit Abby Buckles

11:04 PM: Chilly post-Thanksgiving dinner eaters stand outside Best Buy in the 48° weather in hopes of snagging a voucher for a TV or laptop at midnight.

Credit Abby Buckles

11:28 PM: Target’s line began at the front doors which opened at 12 a.m. and ended in the packed parking lot.

Credit Abby Buckles

11:33 PM: Since noon Thursday family members Cooper Mills (left), Traci Russell, Teri Mills and Spencer Mills camped outside Target in their heated tent for a much coveted 46” TV for under $300 and a $100 camera. The treasures they score today will serve as gifts for both themselves and family. Earlier that night, family brought them plates of the Thanksgiving dinner they missed out on. Post-Black Friday shopping plans for Teri and Traci are going to work. Cooper plans on roadtripping it out to the Lake of the Ozarks while Spencer plans on going home to sleep.

Credit Abby Buckles

11:45 PM: Black Friday madness was a first for friends Marylin Soberink (left), Kristen Benpton, Gabrielle Menneier, Sara Soberink, Emily Soberink and Roberto Pana. The group hails from St. Paul, O’Fallon and St. Peters and kicked off the start of the line outside O’Fallon Kohls at 9:00 p.m. to score $20 off shoes. GameStop is next on their list of places to hit.

Credit Abby Buckles

11:46 PM: Hundreds of people spend their Thanksgiving night shivering outside of Kohl’s to take home discounted shoes, clothing and home goods.

Credit Abby Buckles

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Lines snaked around big box retail stores as early as Tuesday afternoon until doors were opened at the stroke of midnight Friday. People ran to scoop up a steal on a $600 TV and the hottest Justin Bieber doll. Some lines were shorter than others proving you don’t have to wait in line 60 hours beforehand, miss your family’s Thanksgiving dinner or risk hypothermia to score some sweet deals. Behold the sights of long and short which will help you begin mapping out next year’s day of dark deals.

Related Topics: Black Friday and Shopping

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