EFFINGHAM —
After the turkey is dutifully wrapped up, the kitchen cleaned and the whole family is momentarily gathered around the football game, there's one Thanksgiving tradition left.
Standing in long lines waiting for the deal of the year on 2012's best gifts.
Bob Lakin, store manager of the Walmart Supercenter in Effingham, said he already is expecting lines to be forming early Thursday.
"We'll have a queue line for the main drive," he said. "I've seen the lines in the past start forming at noon Thursday."
Lakin said the store tries to accommodate all shoppers, and many of the early arrivers come prepared.
"Our Effingham people are the greatest," he said. "They come in and they usually want to know just where the line is forming. Most of them bring their own lawn chairs and coffee and a drink. Some of them play cards or video games, and they just sit down and rotate with family members who want whatever item."
Walmart's Black Friday coupon deals start at 10 p.m. with extra sales at midnight and 5 a.m.
Local independent stores are also expecting higher traffic over the big shopping weekend.
"We're open, and we're doing Small Business Saturday, too," said Mark Chesnut, owner of Chesnut Family Music in Effingham. "It's kind of hard to say how many we'll have. "We'll probably have a typical Friday. Our clientele isn't the type to get wound up about a clearance."
Chesnut said he hopes to see more people coming through his doors over the weekend and has already seen additional customers looking for Christmas gifts.
"There's already been a pickup of Christmas shoppers," he said. "We've seen a definite upswing."
One local store manager said that while he isn't expecting lines, he does foresee a big turnout from a somewhat unexpected source.
"We don't do anything special," said Jerry Spilker, manager of Home Center in Altamont. "While a lot of the women are out shopping for gifts, the guys come in to work on their projects. It's a chance for them to do the projects they might have been putting off for the week."
Spilker said he expects to see many guys coming in to pick up the parts for plumbing or to get their homes ready for winter.
"It's a lot of guys preparing for winter," he said, with a laugh. "They're putting up weather resistant stuff and doing some projects. It's a very project specific day for us though."
Jackson Adams can be reached at 217-347-7151, ext. 131, or jackson.adams@effinghamdailynews.com.
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Black Friday
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November 21, 2012
Stores prepare for Black Friday deals
See Wednesday's print edition for deals
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