Randall Road corridor stores open early for shopping

If you're a die-hard Black Friday shopper, don't expect to get much sleep.

Because this year, many stores aren't even waiting until it's officially Black Friday to open. They're opening while it's still Thanksgiving.

For example, I'm pretty sure the Thanksgiving dishes won't even be done yet when people start lining up outside Toys R Us stores throughout the Fox Valley.

The toy store is opening at 10 p.m. Thanksgiving night.

“I think I'll probably just go out there right after we leave my aunt's house at 6 or something,” said Michelle Petersen of Algonquin, who's looking for electronics, including a DSI XL, for her kids. “There's no sense in resting when there is shopping I can do.”

Other stores are waiting until it's officially Friday to open, but not much past that. Here is a rundown of when some of your favorites up and down the Randall Road corridor, and throughout the Fox Valley, are opening.

Midnight Madness: Some of the other stores jumping the gun on Black Friday are in the Premium Outlet Mall in Huntley.

As a whole, the mall's official opening is midnight. But several of the stores in the mall can't wait, and neither can the shoppers.

At 10 p.m. Thursday, Bass, BCBG Max Azria, Carter's, Guess, Hearing Help Express, Izod, Tommy Hilfiger, Van Heusen, Villa Pizza and Wilsons Leather Outlet will open. Shortly after, OshKosh B'Gosh opens at 10:30 p.m., followed by the Gap Outlet at 11 p.m.

And since you may start to get hungry again at that time, The Great Steak and Potato rounds out the Thursday night opening and starts serving at 11:30 p.m.

Then, the rest of the stores will open at midnight.

You could probably make a good dent in your Christmas list and then get a couple of hours of sleep before many of the other stores in the area open.

But many Black Friday shoppers say they aren't going to do that.

“I can't sleep. I need to go onto the next store and get in line,” said Theresa Gonzalez of West Dundee, who was scouting out the early deals at Target in Elgin last week. “I might be in line here by 2 a.m.”

The Next Wave: If you're shopping at 4 a.m. Friday, you're going to need a good game plan, because many area stores and malls start to open then. You'll have to choose exactly where you want to be and when, or split the family and friends shopping crew up if you're after many deals at different stores.

Target stores throughout the Fox Valley open at 4 a.m.

Also opening at 4 a.m. are Spring Hill Mall and some of the anchor stores at Charlestowne Mall.

If you're at Charlestowne Mall at 4 a.m., you can shop at Sears, Carson's, Kohl's and Aeropostale.

Starting at 5 a.m., the new Mall BQ in the food court will start selling pastries and coffee.

As the morning goes on, more stores will open as the hours tick away, with Von Maur opening at 9 a.m.

The major anchors at Spring Hill Mall in West Dundee also open at 4 a.m., with some retailers inside opening even earlier.

Shoppers who spend $100 that morning at Spring Hill will receive a $10 Shop Etc. Gift Card when they show their receipts at the center of the mall by noon.

If it's electronics you're after, you might not even get a chance to shop the malls at 4 a.m., because you'll probably want to already be in line at Best Buy.

The Best Buy stores up and down the Randall Road corridor open at 5 a.m., but shoppers usually start lining up many hours before.

Daylight is Coming: Beginning at 6 a.m., the folks at Algonquin Commons will start handing out a free tote bag and gift card to the first 1,500 customers at the mall.

Every tote will have something in it, including a gift card ranging from $10 to $500. Each tote will contain a random gift card, prizes and more.

The lines for the Commons bags start forming early, too, though, so don't expect to show up at 6 a.m. and get one. You probably have to pay your dues with a middle of the night wake-up-call.

Some stores will be open earlier than 6 a.m. at the mall, though, so if you're shopping with someone, you can probably hit a few of them as you take turns waiting in line.

Geneva Commons doesn't officially open until 9 a.m. However, many stores are open earlier there, too.

One of the earliest is American Eagle, which opens at 3 a.m., followed by The Children's Place, which opens at 4 a.m.

Many more stores will start opening at 5 and 6 a.m., followed by those opening at their usual 9 a.m. or 10 a.m. time.

Some of the more sensible shoppers may wait until the fanatics are back in bed.

If so, there will be plenty of fun Christmas-themed activities at Geneva Commons throughout the rest of the day to keep them busy.

The mall will be offering free carriage rides from 2:30 to 6:30 p.m. for those of you ready to rest your feet for a bit after a morning of shopping.

At 5:30 p.m., Santa Claus will arrive at the mall for a tree-lighting celebration.

Following the tree-lighting, he'll visit with kids until about 7 p.m.

Amy Williams' column covers all the news of business along the Randall Road corridor from Batavia to Crystal Lake. Contact her at randallbiz@comcast.net or (847) 894-5036.