Black Friday shoppers score deals Thanksgiving night

With seven kids to shop for gifts for the holidays, Amanda Malott, of Mt. Pleasant, finds herself flipping through Black Friday ads, circling what she wants to buy and hitting the stores as soon as they begin their sales on Wednesday before Thanksgiving every year.

Malott had a full cart shopping at Walmart on Thursday, Nov. 22, on Thanksgiving night, and she had plans to shop in Iowa City on Friday. By the end of the week, she will be 'shopped out and broke,” Malott said with a laugh.

This year, Malott had her mother-in-law, Dolly Samosky, of Mt. Pleasant, in tow.

'She dragged me out. I had no other choice,” Samosky said during her second time Black Friday shopping. 'The first time I had never seen so many people in one spot. I told (Malott) not to leave my side,” she said with a smile.

Malott and Samosky weren't the only ones who hit the sales after Thanksgiving dinner Thursday night in Mt. Pleasant. Peebles opened at 1 p.m. Thursday, offering 60 percent off deals on many items. At Walmart, employees stood on every corner in the store answering questions and directing traffic.

Tammy Gilmore shops on Thanksgiving more for the excitement and the people than the Black Friday deals, although she's always looking for a good bargain, she said.

'We peruse the ads, try to come prepared,” Gilmore said.

Robin Sloan said she and Gilmore were also shopping for people back home who didn't want to brave the elements.

Sarah Garmoe, a Walmart employee, was fortunate enough to get the holiday off and shopped with her six-year-old daughter, Agatha Garmoe, for movies.

'We're just trying to scope everything out. I'm usually working the sales, so this year it's nice to see the other side of it,” Sarah said.

Dana Weber, of Mt. Pleasant, was out buying Christmas and birthday presents for her five-year-old son, whose birthday is 10 days before Christmas.

In the toy aisle at Walmart, Weber said it was only her third time Black Friday shopping in 10 years.

'I'm not big on rude crowds,” Weber said. In her cart were a few games including 'Shark Bite” and 'Operation.” Since she home-schools, Weber thought the games would fit well into her lesson plans. She was currently teaching her son about fish in the ocean and body parts.

Mary Beth Breese and her sister Maggie Hawkins, of Mt. Pleasant, shopped at Peebles Thursday night to get out of the house after a large family Thanksgiving.

The two were thick as thieves, slipping items into other shoppers' carts to keep it fun, Breese said.

Sierra Smith and her mother Brenda Smith, visiting from Ohio, also shopped at Peebles to get out of the house where 20 family members were staying for four days.

'We don't like crowds, so we came here knowing everyone would be at Walmart,” Brenda said with a cart full of discounted merchandise.

Donna Fischer, who doesn't normally shop on Thanksgiving, was at Peebles with her neighbors shopping for Christmas gifts. Fischer didn't want to travel to Iowa City or Burlington for her Black Friday deals.

'I try to do most of my shopping in Mt. Pleasant. Support your hometown,” Fischer said.