Plan ahead for Black Friday shopping in the Fox Valley
Make a plan.
If you're heading out to shop Black Friday or Thanksgiving Day, that's the one piece of advice expert shoppers and mall officials say is necessary.
Especially now, when some stores don't open until Black Friday, while others are open Thanksgiving and still others are offering big deals today.
“You have to map it out,” said Carly Bennett of Algonquin, who plans to head out shopping with her older sister right after their Thanksgiving meal.
“You need to know what you want, where to get it and when you can get it. If you don't, you're going to get lost in all of those crazy shoppers out there. You need a plan. I already know what I'm getting and where.”
If your plan is to enjoy a Thanksgiving meal with your family, get a little rest, and then head out to do some power shopping, there are stores, such as Game Stop along Randall Road in Algonquin and in West Dundee's Spring Hill Mall, that open at midnight.
If you're looking for a little more sleep, you can head to stores such as Home Depot and Lowe's at 5 a.m. and PetSmart at 7 a.m.
However, if your plan is to shop immediately after your Thanksgiving meal, you can hit any Best Buy at 5 p.m. Thanksgiving Day, Macy's and Victoria's Secret at Spring Hill Mall at 6 p.m. that night, and any Target store.
If you head to The Quad — formerly Charlestowne Mall — in St. Charles, you could literally shop for 24 hours straight.
While the main mall is open its regular hours from 10:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Friday, some stores are opening much earlier than that.
If you'd like, you could shop at the Kohl's or Carson's store inside of the mall for 24 hours straight, or more. Those stores open at 6 p.m. Thanksgiving, and stay open until midnight on Black Friday. If you live a little further to the north, you can do the same thing at Spring Hill Mall.
If you're at The Quad and have enough energy to keep going, you could then head to Von Maur, which will open at 9 a.m.
For those looking for more than the traditional gifts you'll find in the chain stores, the Quad also will be holding a craft fair on Black Friday. It will be on the lower level, near the center court, and run Friday through Sunday. Santa also will be at the mall on Black Friday from 3 to 8 p.m. in the lower level court. He'll stay through the weekend and will return on Dec. 5.
Santa also will be making an appearance just to the north at Geneva Commons. However, he'll be arriving long after die-hard Black Friday shoppers have crossed off every item on their list.
Santa arrives at 5:30 p.m. Friday in Geneva, more than 24 hours after stores in that mall will be opening to shoppers.
On Thanksgiving in Geneva Commons, The Gap opens at 4 p.m. and Dick's Sporting Goods opens at 5 p.m. Express and Yankee Candle also open on Thanksgiving.
The rest of the stores in the mall will open on Black Friday, with Aeropostale, American Eagle, H&M, Justice and Tilly's taking the lead at midnight. After that, stores will be opening pretty much every hour until 10 a.m., when the mall officially opens.
If you can make it until 5:30 p.m. when Santa arrives, you'll also be treated to a tree-lighting ceremony and free hot chocolate from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, said Kasia Yuska, publicist for the mall.
While Algonquin Commons doesn't officially open until 5 a.m., you can expect people to start crowding at the mall on Thanksgiving night.
Once again, the mall is hosting its great gift card giveaway, said Kim Gilmore of Gilmore Marketing, which does marketing for the mall.
She said there will be 1,000 gift cards up for grabs beginning at 5 a.m. They will range from $5 to $500, and will come in a bag of SWAG filled with coupons and other freebies, she said.
The gift cards will be given away in the mall office near Aeropostale, but last year the line stretched all the way down to the north end of the mall, with the first people in line getting there around 7 p.m. on Thanksgiving, Gilmore said.
“It was like 11 degrees, and they had sleeping bags. We were so proud of them out there,” Gilmore said.
Gilmore sent out an eblast to Algonquin Commons shoppers on Black Friday shopping tips, and in it that same idea of making a plan is emphasized. That plan, she said, should include making a list of what you want to buy so you can stick to your budget, and also making a list of what stores open.
The plan also includes dressing warm, which is essential for those early-morning shoppers.
The Algonquin Commons mall will be offering free coffee and hot chocolate to early risers this year, Gilmore said. However, you might be in line on Thanksgiving, but the hot drinks won't come until 5 a.m. on Friday.
Santa will arrive at the mall at 11 a.m., and will be traveling on a trolley that goes from one end of the mall to the next. The free trolley will run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., so weary Black Friday shoppers can get a lift to and from the stores.
In Huntley, the Premium Outlet Center is closed on Thanksgiving. It opens early on Black Friday at 7 a.m. and stays open until 8 p.m., said Ashley Moses, public relations specialist for the mall.
The mall has no special promotions going on, however, individual stores will have sales that morning.