Black Friday marks the official start of the holiday shopping season. My Black Friday-prep tradition typically involves reading the ads in the Thanksgiving Day paper while the girls watch the dog show.
If you want to browse the ads online, check out 2011′s Black Friday sales predictions or read the flyers as they’re posted on one of the deal aggregators, like TheBlackFriday.com or Black-Friday.net.
Want to shop early? Take advantage of the sales & Lightning deals in Amazon.com’s Countdown to Black Friday Store.
I don’t go every year, but if loss-leader sales lure you out, you can often take advantage of other freebies & deals between shopping stops.
No guarantees that they’ll repeat in 2012, but here’s a sampling of 2011′s deals. I’ll link to 2012′s offers closer to the date:
- Sam’s Club: From 5:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m. on Friday, November 25, 2011, members can get a free breakfast, including a hot egg sandwich, fresh fruit, yogurt, and coffee. If you join or upgrade to Plus membership while in the club through Thanksgiving weekend, you’ll receive a $20 gift card.
- Half Price Books: On Black Friday, November 25, 2011 at 7:00 a.m. The first 100 people in line will get a free tote bag–99 will have a $5 gift card, and one will contain a $100 gift card.
- Tanger Outlets: At 10:00 p.m. on Thanksgiving, November 24, 2011, the first 200 shoppers in line will receive a free $10 Tanger Gift Card. At 2:00 a.m. on Black Friday, November 25, they’ll give the first 100 shoppers in line a free $20 Tanger Gift Card.
- Seattle’s Best Coffee: If you’re working on Black Friday 2011, you can get a free 1.75 oz. sample of Seattle’s Best Coffee shipped to you.
- IKEA: From November 25-27, 2011, kids eat free at participating IKEA locations.
- JC Penney’s: On November 25, 2011, free Disney snow globes while supplies last at participating stores.
- Old Navy: Starting at midnight on Black Friday at most stores, free Kodak Easyshare Sport Waterproof Digital Camera with a $40+ purchase while supplies last at participating locations.
- Sears: Starting at midnight on Black Friday at most stores, free 2011 Thomas Kinkade Ornament to the first 200 people who purchase clothing, intimate apparel & accessories while supplies last.
- Best Buy: Starting at midnight on Black Friday at most stores, get a free $50 Best Buy gift card with purchase of an 8GB iPod touch 4th Generation, get $45 off any iPad 2, and get a $100 iTunes Gift Card for $80 while supplies last.
- Target: Starting at midnight on Black Friday at most stores, get a Nikon L105 Digital Camera for $99, the Amazon Kindle keyboard 3G is $85, buy an iPod nano or iPod touch & get a free Target gift card, get a $25 iTunes Gift Card for $20, and get a $10 Target gift card with purchase of select video games while supplies last.
- Toys “R” Us: Starting November 24, 2011 at 9:00 p.m., save 50% or more on quite a few toys–RC trucks, tool kits, Littlest Pet Shop, Coby 7″ portable DVD players, Vivitar DVR 410 camcorders, foosball, iHome portable speaker dock, & more, buy any iPod touch & get a $50 Toys “R” Us gift card, and save 35% on select LEGO sets while supplies last.
- Sports Authority: Starting November 25, 2011 at 4:00 a.m. at most locations, if you’re one of the first 80 people in line, you’ll receive a free Sports Authority Bonus Bucks card worth anywhere from $10-$500.
- Dick’s Sporting Goods: On November 25, 2011, if you spend $100+, you’ll receive a coupon for $20 off your next purchase. Coupon is redeemable from November 28-December 24, 2011.
- Cost Plus World Market: On Friday-Sunday, November 25-27, 2011, the first 100 in-store customers will receive a free Tintin ornament & movie ticket.
- Kohl’s: For every $50 you spend from Friday, November 25, through Sunday, November 27, you’ll receive $15 in Kohl’s Cash. The Kohl’s Cash can be redeemed online and in-store from November 28-December 5, 2011.
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