'Tis the season for shopping: Black Friday crowds load up on holiday gifts

Lines outside popular stores such as Best Buy and Toys R Us formed early in the day Thursday and continued through near freezing temperatures overnight, but that did not deter faithful bargain hunters from their quests.

Parking spaces around Valdosta Mall were at a premium by its 6 a.m. opening, and crowds got bigger throughout the morning.

Shoppers armed with lists of must-haves were the norm at retailers, vying to find those perfect items for family, as well as friends.

Gracie Bacon of Valdosta began her day at Wal-Mart around 6 a.m. with flat-screen televisions on her mind.

"I bought four TV's as Christmas gifts," Bacon said. "I looked for other things, but by 6 a.m. most of the electronics and appliances were gone."

Bacon said that the line at Wal-Mart stretched as far as the store's garden center.

"After I left Wal-Mart, I headed to Belk and JC Penney to purchase some clothes for teenagers, as well as my 7-year-old granddaughter."

Bacon added that she also got some apparel for her sons.

"I wanted to go to Toys

R Us, but the line extended to Lowe's," she said. "After I grab something to eat, I'm going to Sam's Club and then I'm going home. It's wild out here."

Mallory Gay of Valdosta and her sister, Charlotte Gay of Atlanta, were at Target by 5 a.m.

"We drug the kids out of bed and brought them along with us this morning," Mallory Gay said.

Among bargain items the sisters found were "Princess and the Frog" dolls and sets and an Xbox 360, which was $299. They could be seen leaving Target with mounds of toys and games in their carts.

"We had a great time and the crowd was fun," Mallory Gay said. "We also had a very helpful associate. After leaving Target, we headed to the mall."

Charlotte Gay said that they were overwhelmed by the amount of traffic on the streets and in the mall.

After about five hours of tussling down shopping aisles and waiting in line with other shoppers, the sisters settled at Chick-fil-A to restore their energy. The sisters said they were heading to Tallahassee after they left Valdosta Mall.

Within the mall, stores such as JC Penney, Belk and Sears had sales for as much as 70 percent off apparel between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m.

At Waldenbooks, books and novels could be purchased for $1.

Doorbuster sales at Best Buy included desktop computers at $299 and portable global positioning systems (GPS) for $99. Toys R Us offered discounted prices on Nintendo DS and Wii games, dolls and stuffed animals and items for babies.

Many stores will continue to offer sales and discounts throughout the remainder of the weekend.

According to About.com, the day after Thanksgiving in the United States is frequently referred to as Black Friday. Heavily promoted by retailers, it is one of the major holiday shopping days and the day many consumers begin Christmas shopping. The origin of Black Friday comes from the shift to profitability during the holiday season. The day was when retailers went from being unprofitable, or "in the red," to being profitable, or "in the black," at a time when accounting records were kept by hand and red indicated loss and black profit. While important, Black Friday is rarely the busiest shopping day of the year.

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