GAINESVILLE — For the Hayes family, shopping the day after Thanksgiving — or what some call Black Friday — is one of their favorite days of the year.
The shopping fanatics of the family will set out at about 8 a.m. on Friday morning and head straight to Lenox Square Mall in Atlanta and various other stores to shop — but most importantly — socialize.
"Bargains are sort of hit or miss," said Heather Hayes, shopping enthusiast and Gainesville resident. "It’s more about the time together and looking for deals than really purchasing. Really the highlight for the day is lunch. We go somewhere that you can sit down and eat."
Chris Carmosino, general manager of Lakeshore Mall in Gainesville, agreed that the day is more of a social event than anything.
"People come out and they like to socialize; it’s something that the families do together and they like coming here and spending time here," he said.
The group of women in the Hayes family who will participate in the hectic day include Heather Hayes, her mother Donna Murray and, for the first time, daughter Sara Hayes, 11.
"She is ecstatic," Hayes said. "See, if you’re not old enough to shop all day long we don’t let you come. And no men are allowed, so she thinks it is the greatest thing in the world. She’s been saving up her allowance and has been doing some extra stuff to make some extra money for some gifts she is looking for friends."
Hayes added a few tips for folks who want to try shopping on the busiest shopping day of the year.
"First, wear good shoes," she said. "We map out where we want to go and find out the times that the stores open and close so that you can make sure you do them in the right order."
Mapping out the day also was a suggestion from Michele Rothstein, spokeswoman for the North Georgia Premium Outlets in Dawsonville. She added that their sale flier, available on their Web site lists all the events for the day.
The North Georgia Premium Outlets will open at 12:01 a.m. Friday to begin the three-day shopping extravaganza. Lakeshore Mall kicks off the shopping holiday at 7 a.m. Friday with some department stores opening and different times in the morning. The Mall of Georgia in Buford will open their doors at 6 a.m. Friday.
"One thing that we are doing this year is we have early bird offers," said Melissa Cahill, director of marketing for Mall of Georgia. "So from 5 a.m. to 10 a.m. there are certain stores throughout the mall that will offer additional savings. Some of the department stores do have their own hours, here we have quite a range."