Black Friday 2012: Strange Things You Saw While Shopping

A woman wading in a mall fountain? A cow in line at Best Buy? Patch hit the local shopping scene Thanksgiving night and Black Friday to talk to shoppers about the craziest, funniest or weirdest stories from the day.

Black Friday is a day for doorbusters, discounts and lines—oh, the lines. Shoppers of the Southland descended upon Orland Park, as the mecca of shopping and home to Orland Square Mall, Best Buy, Target and big names in retail. Patch hit the streets—and the lines—Thanksgiving night and Black Friday to chat with shoppers about their tales from the retail frenzy.  Some, like Nicole Harris, filed into line outside Best Buy as early as 11 p.m. Thanksgiving night, with hopes of an encounter with talk show host Ellen DeGeneres. Harris sacrificed the comfort of her own bed in the name of shopping.  "We camped out last night in our tent, but we weren't the first ones here, which was kind of a surprise," Harris said. Those in line alongside Harris …

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Lincoln-Way Black Friday 2012 Shopping Guide

You don't have to leave the Lincoln-Way area to find special sales on Black Friday.

Best Routes to Drive to Orland Square Mall on Black Friday

With serious shopping comes heavy traffic. Patch has a few suggestions for getting in and out of the large retail center during one of the busiest shopping days of the year.

Big crowds at shopping centers mean clogged roadways, and that can certainly be the case near Orland Square Mall. We have a few driving suggestions to lessen your holiday madness. With the mall opening for business at midnight Friday, LaGrange Road will likely be crowded, with its connections to I-80 and I-55.   With that in mind, here are a few suggestions for getting into the mall area, most of which avoiding LaGrange Road. Also, try our interactive map above to plan your own route. From the North From the South From the East From the West

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Lincoln-Way Black Friday 2012 Shopping Guide

You don't have to leave the Lincoln-Way area to find special sales on Black Friday.

Don't worry if you're too full to move very far the day after Thanksgiving—even if you want to participate in the mad rush of Black Friday, there are lots of local deals that will keep you in the Lincoln-Way area.  Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, is known as the unofficial start to holiday shopping and often features early hours, long lines and special deals. Here are what some local stores are offering: Get news alerts and Facebook updates from these Lincoln-Way Patch sites:

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Anna Schier

11:58 am on Thursday, November 22, 2012

Hi KS829, We'll have lots of local business coverage on the site tomorrow and the next day for Small Business Saturday. Thanks for reading, and happy Thanksgiving! :) Anna   more ›

How Early is Too Early for Christmas Shopping?

It used to be Black Friday was for the earliest of early shoppers. Not anymore. Look around. The stores are ready now.

Look around the Chicago area and you'll see all the signs: The early birds no longer wait until Black Friday to do their Christmas shopping. This year, Black Friday is on Nov. 23, but big retailers and mail-order companies are starting well in advance. Amazon, for example, is beginning its Black Friday on Nov. 14. Crazy or crazy smart? Just how early is too early to shop for Christmas 2012 gifts? Take our poll.

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Christmas 2012 Gifts: What Are You Hoping to Get?

Yes, already — even before Black Friday. We know the Christmas shopping tends to get done earlier every year in Frankfort and everywhere else. So, here's your chance to tell your friends and family what Christmas gift you want in 2012.

Head to downtown Frankfort or any nearby stores and you'll see that it's already beginning to look a lot like Christmas 2012 in and around the village. All kinds of gift ideas are out there. For totally local, you can get to This and That Gifts, Cottage Creations or Glory Bee for gifts from historic downtown Frankfort. Maybe the big box stores are your thing? Walmart has already announced it is offering layaway again this year, with the iPad and HP Ultrabook-based laptops on the list of eligible purchases. The store has changed the policy on its open fee, which is kept if you ultimately can't pay for the item or refunded as a Walmart gift card when the item is fully paid off. That fee — or credit — has been increased from $5 to $15. …

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Record-Breaking Black Friday Weekend Blasts Retailers into Holiday Shopping Season

The National Retail Federation says more shoppers participated in Black Friday weekend than ever.

The holiday shopping season traditionally has started around 6 a.m. on the Friday after Thanksgiving, but by that hour this year, Walmart employees and those of other stores who braved an early morning shopping rush in Evergreen Park—and across the country— had already seen the end of a long shift. They were catching their breath to prepare for the next group of shoppers. The waves of crowds had gone, leaving dirt-tracked floors and managers with bloodshot eyes and rumpled shirts. This time around, more shoppers purchased and took avantage of deals on the biggest shopping weekend of the year than ever before, according the National Retail Federation. [ Related: Shoppers Share Their Best Black Friday Bargains ] In mid-November, a …

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What Was Your Best Black Friday Find?

TVs, diamonds, cookware, game systems and computer printers — what were some of the best deals found Friday in Southland stores?

Friday was all about the bargain. Several folks told Patch about their best finds on Friday. Tell us about yours in the comment section. FOUND AT TARGET, OAK LAWN Gina Roach and her mother, Sharon Valente, both of Beverly, caught a few good deals early Friday at Target in Oak Lawn. Their finds included a Fisher-Price laptop for $22.99 and a 9-inch LCD TV for $55, down from $120. "I'm tingling," Valente confessed with a laugh. FOUND AT BEST BUY, HOMEWOOD Mrs. Thomas (who declined to share her first name), of Chicago, visited Best Buy in Homewood to find the last Kinect bundle for $199. The bundle included the gaming system, a controller, a charger and two batteries. Thomas hovered over her merchandise protectively until a salesperson …

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