Black Friday new form of quality family time

11/23/2012 (Updated 10:47:55 PM)

(Source: Kate Thornton)

First time Black Friday shoppers Mariah Hodge, Sydney Fredrick, and Josh Jotryn spent the morning after Thanksgiving finding the best deals possible.

"Bath and Body Works had a great buy one get three free deal," chimed the trio.

They were three out of thousands in the holiday shopping spirit who flocked to the Oakdale Mall in the early morning hours.

Molly Patterson, originally from Homer but currently lives in North Carolina, even wore a bright green shirt to match her mother and sister.  "We figured if we have our green shirts on, we can be able to find each other easily," said Patterson.

Black Friday shopping with her family while visiting for the holidays is a yearly tradition.

Turns out it's not just the turkey that brings family together for the Thanksgiving holiday.  Many families were spending a new form of quality time together while finding the deal of the season.

"Every year my sisters and I, and my mom, and whoever else want to join us come every year the day after Thanksgiving for Black Friday shopping," said shopper Cindy Shaw.

"It's a tradition.  It's something we started early in our married life and we've always done it.  And there's a lot of really nice sales," said veteran Black Friday shoppers Sharon and Nick Fleming from Norwich.  They said they're finding great deals on Christmas gifts for their grandchildren.

Families are not only staying home together for the holiday feasts, but going out and shopping together as well.