'Tis the (shopping) season

Bring blankets and chairs to survive the wait. Have a plan. Run.

Black Friday may be a deal-getters' paradise, but it is also a battlefield. On the day after Thanksgiving, hundreds of residents from Yuba, Sutter and Colusa counties were up before the sun rose to snare what were proclaimed as the best deals of the season.

While family members slept off turkey-induced comas at home, shoppers bundled in scarves and jackets stood outside major retailers for hours before being allowed in to grab "doorbuster" sale items.

Amber Hatfield, an out-of-towner visiting friends in Yuba City, calls herself a team leader, but the family members who make up her group of shoppers say she is more like a team dictator.

"You don't go without a plan," she said. "You get what's on the list and get out. It's like going into battle, but we don't push."

Everyone has a role. Hatfield's husband is the "enforcer," making sure the shoppers stand their ground and don't stray from the shopping list. Another family member handles "logistics" from home to make sure the children get breakfast.

Other loved ones comprise the rest of the team. After a communication check to ensure cell phones are fully charged and in working order, the individuals fan out across the stores in pursuit of advertised deals that have been cut out, priced and pasted onto a goal sheet.

"With four kids, the great deals are the only way I can afford to give them a good Christmas," Hatfield said. "And then I don't have to shop in December."

Olivehurst resident Rhonda Ledford sent her son and daughter to Sears at 8 p.m. Thursday to wait in line. Her planning was rewarded with one of the store's four $579.98 Kenmore washer and dryer sets, for a savings of $500.

Ledford said she has been a Black Friday shopper for years. The secret to success is in the planning.

"You don't have to be first in line," she said. "You just have to know what you want."

But for some, the excitement comes in being at the head of the line.

"My legs were bouncing when we pulled into an empty parking lot," said Melissa Villa of Olivehurst.

She arrived at Target around 10:30 p.m. Thursday for savings on electronics and Play-Doh. By the time the store's 5 a.m. opening rolled around, cars packed the asphalt like sardines.

In some stores, Christmas tunes caroled over the loudspeakers, but a roar of voices echoed within Walmart's walls. Customers, their carts overflowing with boxes of electronics, housewares and toys, snaked out in long lines from the registers.

Shrink-wrapped pallets were no obstacle to those who wanted the goods beneath. Store employees had a challenging time keeping consumers' hands off the deals before the 5 a.m. sale time.

"They were ripping packages open and fighting the employees," said Doris Tapia, of Meridian. "One little old lady got trampled in the TomTom line."

Tension also grew between customers, said Live Oak resident Janet Moore.

"You can hear them fighting — 'That's my Shop-Vac!'" she said.

Yuba City resident Kadie Milam had her friends and family stand near designated items and appointed one person to get in line for a quick checkout once everyone's sale items were in hand. She expected to spend about $1,000 and nothing was going to stand in her way of the deals.

"If I'm up at 2 a.m. to get things, I'm gonna get them," she said.

But Black Friday is not for everyone.

"So far, I've gone to one store and I wouldn't do it again," said Sebastian Medina of Colusa. "It's just too crowded."

After a trip to Kohl's, he wanted to buy a Christmas tree at Lowe's for his wife and then stop by Home Depot and Big 5 to purchase some things for himself. The savings, although small, are the only aspect that make the excursion worth it, he said.

"It's hard times right now," Medina said. "The economy is not all that great. People are just trying to save money any way they know."

Contact Appeal-Democrat reporter Ashley Gebb at 749-4724 or agebb@appealdemocrat.com.

Were you out shopping on Black Friday? Share your experiences on the Appeal-Democrat's Facebook page.

Facebook fans to share their Black Friday shopping experiences:

Walked in & out of Kohl's. Was not worth the wait. JCPenney's was much more user friendly. The line of cars to get into Target — crazy stuff. Left the house at 4:30 and home by 7:30. Worth it — saved lots of money. — Dawn Azevedo

Office Depot had a line starting at 6 p.m. Thanksgiving night, I got there at 9 p.m. It was very organized when they opened, they handed out tickets to people so there was no fighting or shoving. Hello from my new laptop. — Ashley Johnson