It's that time of year again! Let the craziness begin! 
Perhaps I'm being an optimist for once, but I'm thinking that we may see even better deals this year than we've seen in a long time. It's no secret that the economy is in the tank and it doesn't seem to be improving much. Stores are reporting some seriously low sales. In order to encourage more spending, stores have started to run holiday ads even earlier this year. I'm hoping that with all this going on, there will be some great deals to be had the day after Thanksgiving. Let's hope I'm right! See below the ads I've been able to find so far. I will also post information that I've found about what we can expect from certain stores. I'm also posting my gift ideas (just throwing in my 2cents). Let's start our game plan!
The Stores
Walmart --> this ad hasn't been released yet. But there are some major changes to note. After last year, when a store employee got killed in the stampeed (seriously!), they are changing their Black Friday plan. Stores will open Thanksgiving day at 6am and stay open through Friday evening. Depending on what the ad has, I may consider going Thanksgiving morning.
Kmart --> opens 6am
Target --> opens 5am, I think Target gets my "best deals" vote so far! I've never gone to Target on Black Friday (usually go to the mall) but I may consider it this year.
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$3 Chefmate appliances (great for a teen on their way or already in college!)
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$5 kids pajama sets (great filler gift!)
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$5 women and men sleep pants (great for teens)
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$35 electronic drum set (have no idea if this is a good deal but looks like a cool gift for a pre-teen boy; comes with headphones! LOL)
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$29 digital photo frame (great for the office worker who has everything; great for grandparents if you program it for them)
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$3.99 and $5.99 DVDS (stocking stuffers)
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$7.49 Disney Cars 4pk Speedway Vehicles (great kid gift!)
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$9.99 Leap Frog fridge sets (I have several of these and my kids love them!)
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$10 Doodle Pro (I'm thinking this would be great for my almost 3yr old; great car toy for long trips)
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lots of older kid games for $10
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$10 Thomas the Train thing (perfect for little boys)
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$16.99 Easybake Oven (what young girl wouldn't love this?)
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$7.99 Transformer
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$5 preschool games
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$6.99 Playdoh set (maybe I'm crazy but going to try to get this for my almost 3yo)
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$12 Queen Size Air Bed (perfect if you have guests coming from out of town; or good gift for someone who goes camping)
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$9 Dirt Devil Stick Vac (good gift for teen on their way or already in college)
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$15 Armor All Gift Pack (got this for DH last year and he loved it! Would be great for a teen boy too!)
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$7 Disney Princess Activity Sets
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Fleece jackets for the family
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$5 scarfs (great stocking stuffer)
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$10 slippers for girls and $12 slippers for women
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$5 women or men graphic tees (great for teens); $10 women and men lined hoodies (perfect for adults and teens; filler gifts for under the tree)
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$7 infant, toddler, boys and girls lined hoodies. $3 infant, toddler, boys and girls graphic tees (great filler gifts for under the tree)
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$10 Digital KeyChain (great stocking stuffer for anyone!)
Home Depot --> open 6am
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99cent ponsetias (good hostest gift)
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several tool gifts int he $10 price range (great stocking stuffers for the guys!)
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$9.99 LED flashlight 6pk combo (again, great stocking stuffer)
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$9.99 60pk Rayovak AA batterie set (this would be a great time to stock up for around the house)
Lowes --> opens 6am (be sure to type in your zip code to pull up ad for your area)
Toys R Us --> opens midnight on Thanksgiving Day. I think this place is an over-rated nightmare. You can find most of these toys elsewhere. Plus, they usuallly have just as good online deals (check there Cyber Monday instead!)
Best Buy --> opens 5am; not that great this year
Sears --> opens 4am YIKES! This is my favorite place to go b/c I usually get DH tools for Christmas. I'm going to skip this year, though. I find that they have the same tool deals after BF.
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Great place for deals on tools and electronics
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$9.99 Disney Pix Micro Digital Cameras (this looks really cute for a kid's gift)
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60% off dresses for infant and toddler girls (great time to buy that Christmas outfit!)
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$9.99 Hamilton Beach 4qt Slow Cooker
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DVDs for $3.99
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Craftsman 13inch tool bag $4.99 (I get these bags almost every year. They are very sturdy and hold a lot. It's a great misc. gift for a guy)
JcPenny --> opens 4am
Kohls --> opens 4am; $10 in Kohl's Cash for every $50 you spend!
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$3.99 small kid board games
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$4.99 games for older kids & adults
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$3.99 stainless steal water bottles (great stocking stuffer; specially for teens!)
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I see lots of good deals on clothes for juniors and adults
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$7.99 mens pj pants
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$29.99 Hamilton Beach roaster that comes with 3 buffet-style insert trays (looks like a cool gift for the mom that likes to entertain!)
CVS --> the ad hasn't been posted yet but see this blog for info on the freebies.
Walgreens --> opens 9am Thanksgiving day; lots of great RR freebie deals
Office Depot --> opens 6am
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great laptop and printer deals
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$29.99 digital photo frame (this is a good gift for the office worker who has everything or the grandparent, as long as you program it for them!)
Tanger Outlet Stores --> I have one of these near me. It looks like they have some great deals this year. They usually have a great Thanksgiving sale too that is at night.
Note: I'll be adding more adds as they are released. So, be sure to check back often!
Send me a comment: Do you plan to shop Black Friday this year? Do you plan to stand in line or sit in your pjs at home and shop online? What are your Black Friday traditions? Do you think all the chaos is worth the deals? Last year I noticed a whole lot more after-Black-Firday-deals that were pretty much the same as what you get that day. So, if you noticed the same, do you plan on staying home this year?