After more than 20 hours of bargain hunting, Gayle Short still wore a smile at 5 a.m. Black Friday as employees of Academy Sports and Outdoors unlocked the front doors.
The 54-year-old Fairdealing grandmother started her shopping at 8 a.m. Thanksgiving.
"It's for the deals," said Short, whose family held their turkey feast last weekend, to accommodate travel schedules.
"This is the friendliest crowd," Short added, while her husband caught a nap in their truck. "Everybody is having a good time."
Short arrived at Academy at 1:30 a.m. to nab the first spot in line.
The Young family wasn't quite that dedicated, but it was still an early start for mother Charissa and sons, Easton, 2, and Chase, 8 weeks.
"I usually do this and my husband usually stays home, but it was Academy's first (Black Friday). He wanted to come too," Young said, of the Eight Points' retailer.
Snacking on a bag of cereal, Easton grinned while his parents shopped and his brother slept.
Employees spent more than two months planning for the holiday shopping weekend, to ensure everything went smoothly, said Gene Hux of Academy.
"The big thing is traffic flow, being able to get the customers in and out as quickly as possible while maintaining customer service," Hux said, after tickets for some of the most popular items were handed out to incoming shoppers.
Many of the customers grabbed items quickly to make another store opening.
Bernita and Alton Thompson of Doniphan were in the doors of Home Depot at 6 a.m. and checking out with a new pre-lit Christmas tree by 6:01 a.m.
An earlier trip to a Walmart sale only took nine minutes longer, said Bernita Thompson.
"The Christmas shopping for the kids and grandkids is already done. We're shopping for us now," she said of their tight scheduled and well-planned stops.
The Cochran family was a little more undecided later at Sears Hometown Store.
Ricky Cochran, 57, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., browsed the tool section with his wife while their son and daughter-in-law contemplated new appliances.
Tools were among the most popular items for the die hard Black Friday shoppers waiting when the doors opened at 7 a.m., according to store owner John Ross.
Shopping patterns change every year, Ross added of the crowds.
Open on Thanksgiving Day for the past five years, Ross said his store made a change this year.
Their sale was stretched out before and after the holiday and the store was closed Nov. 23.
"It was spread over a longer period of time. That makes it more convenient for the shoppers," he said.
For others, like friends Amanda Collier and Stephanie Sanders of Neelyville, Mo., today was simply about having a good time.
"This is tradition for me. It's just fun," said Collier.