By Greg Tepper
gtepper@neighborsgo.com


Tara Storch is a Coppell resident who looks forward to Black Friday every year for her shopping needs. She shares some of her tips for the big day with neighborsgo.

How do you start your Black Friday?
I don’t fight the 5 a.m. crowd, so I start out around 9 a.m. Some stores open at 4 a.m., which I think is crazy!
 
Do you make a specific plan?
You bet! I wouldn’t get anything done unless I wrote it down. I make a holiday list and have an idea in my head of places I need to go to get those presents.

Do you shop with friends or alone? Why?
Usually just with my best friend. We make a day out of it; start with breakfast somewhere fun and make a plan when we are together on what stores we will go to, who we need to get gifts for and so on. Then, we get movin’!

I would rather shop with just one girlfriend. Shopping with too many girls (especially when you are on a time limit) can be tricky because everyone shops differently. Some like to browse; some like to shop faster. I’m a “get ’er done” kind of gal on this day! No browsing for me!

What’s your favorite place to go?
Depends on what we are looking for, but we usually have started early (like September) with our annual trip to Canton, Texas. We get a lot of gifts there! But, on Black Friday, we hit Target, Stonebriar Mall, GameStop, Kohl’s, Wal-Mart and some specialty stores.
 
Do you try to hit special sales?
Sometimes, but usually all the stores are having such great sales, we can always get good deals wherever we go.

What are your top three tips for survival?
1. Make a list with who you are buying for and have a plan on where you will shop so you aren’t running all over the city. 2. Have a girlfriend who you can laugh with all day. 3. Try not to get overwhelmed by the craziness!
 
Do you plan to use social media (Twitter, Facebook) to keep up with what’s going on this Black Friday?
Not really. I have my own social network: it’s called friends! Girls talk to each other about where to find a great gift or a super sale!
 
What’s your worst Black Friday memory?
One year, I shopped all day and didn’t really knock much out on my list! Everywhere we seemed to go was out of stock of the item I wanted, or the lines were too long to wait in for the one item I had in my hands! That was frustrating.

Do you have any other advice for Black Friday shoppers?
Really try to remember what the season is all about!

How much holiday shopping do you usually have left to do after Black Friday?
I can get a good 75 percent done on this day, so for the rest I can spread out over the next few weeks.
 
Heading into the holidays (after Black Friday), how do you get the best deals?
I look online, but right now, we are hit with a ton of catalogs and coupons in the mailbox, so I feel like I know where to go and where the sales are. Plus, my best friend always brings a ton of coupons she prints out from the Web sites, so we share those.
 
What do you want for Christmas?
For my kids to have wonderful memories of this special holiday! (But, if my husband wants to throw in some shopping money for me, I’d be OK with that!)

For information on Black Friday retailers, visit our page on extended mall hours.