Black Friday Schedule

When to Shop for the Best Black Friday Deals

If you've been scouring the Black Friday advertisements as they come out, you know you'll need to be an early bird to get the best deals. But, do you have a Black Friday schedule? Do you know what time to be where in order to score the cream of the Black Friday deals? To help you out, we've compiled a list of Black Friday opening hours to factor into your attack plan.

Thanksgiving Day (Thursday, November 24).

Many stores are opening their doors to the hordes of Black Friday shoppers even earlier this year -- on Thanksgiving Day. That's right, you can finish your turkey and burn off some of those excess calories with a shopping trip. Old Navy plans to mark the official start of the holiday shopping season with stores opening at 9 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day, but the real Black Friday deals won't kick in until Friday at midnight. Toys R Us will open at 9 p.m. on Turkey Day and Walmart will follow at 10 p.m. with discounts on toys and other select items.

Black Friday (Friday, November 25).

Friday at midnight is when the Black Friday schedule will really start picking up. Walmart will place electronics on sale at midnight, and Old Navy will roll out its Black Friday sales. Best Buy, Target, Kohl's, Macy's, and Bed, Bath & Beyond will also open their doors to shoppers at midnight. Sears and JC Penney will open at 4 a.m., while Lowe's, Home Depot, Sam's Club, Dick's Sporting Goods, and Kmart will open at 5 a.m. Radio Shack opens at 5:30 a.m. on Black Friday and Staples, Office Max, and Office Depot all open at 6 a.m. BJ's will open at 7 a.m., while Costco will keep regular store hours on Black Friday. Walmart will unleash yet another round of discounts at 8 a.m.

When to Arrive.

We've all heard crazy stories about people camping outside of stores days before Black Friday -- like this one from the GulfportPatch. Three families in Gulfport have pitched a tent and are actually taking turns holding their place outside of a Best Buy store two full weeks before Black Friday just to be the first to get the best deals. Now that's a little extreme, but the moral is, if you want to ensure you get the best Black Friday deals and don't leave empty-handed, your Black Friday schedule had better start early. If you're going after hot deals in limited quantities, plan to get in line at least two hours before the doors open.

Online Black Friday Deals.

If you prefer not to deal with the Black Friday crowd, a viable option is to shop online. Many stores this year are offering similar Black Friday deals online coupled with free shipping if you spend a certain amount. Take Macy's, for example: The store is having an online sale throughout Thanksgiving weekend, with an additional 15 percent off select sale-priced items, plus free shipping with the code GOBBLE. With deals like that online, it's worth checking Black Friday advertisements against online deals to potentially save yourself both time and hassle on this big shopping weekend.

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