Black Friday 2012: What You Need to Know Before You Leave the House

The Event

As if you needed an introduction, Nov. 23 marks one of the busiest shopping days of the year—Black Friday. The event often brings out the best and sometimes, the worst, in shoppers. Some have been known to wait in line for hours before the doors open—and blistering cold, biting winds or driving rain has proved no match for the avid Black Friday deal-hunter.

The Forecast

So far this year, the National Weather Service is predicting mild weather. Thanksgiving night, there’s a chance of showers and mostly cloudy skies, with a low around 33. On Black Friday it should be mostly sunny with a high near 35-  and Friday night, partly cloudy, with a low around 22.

Tips & Facts

• Kohl's will open at midnight on Thursday, Nov. 22 and remain open for 24 hours. According to a news release, the store will also feature more than 500 early bird specials from midnight Thursday through Friday at 1 p.m. Kohl’s Operation:Black Friday is open to online shoppers Wednesday – Friday at 3 p.m.

• Most Walmart stores will begin Black Friday sales at 8 p.m. Thursday and will allow shoppers to shop online all day on Thanksgiving.

• The National Retail Federation predicts that up to 147 million shoppers will visit stores and shop online during Black Friday weekend, a slight decrease from the 152 million who said they planned to do so last year. 

The Ads

Here are a few Black Friday ads:

Store Opening Black Friday ad 6 a.m. Click here for Ad Bath and Body Works
Midnight
Click here for Ad. Ace Hardware 8 a.m.
Click here for Ad Best Buy Midnight Click here for Ad Costco 9 a.m. Click here for Ad Hobby Lobby 8 a.m. Click here for Ad Home Depot 5 a.m. Click here for Ad JCPenney 6 a.m. Click here for Ad Kmart 4 a.m.
Click here for Ad Lowe's  6 a.m. Click here for Ad Macy's Midnight Click here for Ad Meijer 6 a.m. Click here for Ad Menard's 5 a.m. Click here for Ad Sears Hardware 8 p.m. Thursday Click here for Ad Shoe Carnival Midnight Click here for Ad Staples  5 a.m.  Click here for Ad Target  9 p.m. Thursday Click here for Ad Walmart 8 p.m. Thursday Click here for Ad

Here are just a few of the Black Friday deals out there. Happy shopping!

Best Buy 

• Toshiba 40-inch Class LCD 1080p-60Hz HDTV: $179.99
• Samsung 15.6” Laptop = 4GB memory, 500 GB Hard drive: $349.95
• Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 with 8GB memory: $179.99
• Motorola DROID Razr MAXX 4G LTE mobile phone: $149.99
• Sony Play Station 3 (250GB) infamous: $199.99
• Nikon Coolpix S9050 12.1 megapixel digital camera: $129.99

Kohl’s

• Early bird: 55-60% off + extra 20% off all fine jewelry and silver jewelry
• Early bird: Polaroid 8-inch Android tablet with front-facing camera and 4GB internal memory: $89.99 after mail-in rebate.
• Early bird: Assorted toys from Fisher-Price, Playskool, Little Tikes, Barbie, Disney Princess, Hot Wheels and more: $19.99

Macy's 

• Charter Club cashmere crewneck women’s sweaters: $49.99
• Alfani, Geoffrey Beene & Oscar de la Renta men’s sweaters: $21.99
• Dooney & Bourke 1975 medium Susanna tote: $139.99
• Free headphones with any $75 fragrance purchase
• Lady Gaga Fame four-piece fragrance set: $79
• Victoria Townsend sterling silver diamond hoop earrings: $39.99

—Brian Feldt contributed to this article