Click to enlarge CHRIS JENNINGS / HERALD DEMOCRAT Maggie Fortenberry writes down items for her Christmas wish list at Walmart in Sherman.

BY JERRIE WHITELEY

HERALD DEMOCRAT

SHERMAN -- Parking places were hard to find Friday both in the outside lots at at Sherman's Town Center and inside some of the stores.

Stores welcomed hordes of shoppers looking for premium gifts without the premium price tags.

Shoppers faced long lines for check out and congested isles at some stores, but many were happy with their results. Others just seemed to think it is part of the norm these days.

Daniel White of Atoka, Okla., arrived in Texas in the wee hours of the day after Thanksgiving and started shopping right away.

He snagged a Nintendo DS for the price he wanted, but he had to wait in line for quite a while to get it. An overflowing shopping basket filled with other sale items showed he and his shopping partner had been busy while they were in the store.

"In this economy," he said, "it is worth it."

"There is just so much to look at and you have to do it quickly," said Linda Howard of Sherman as she shopped for her granddaughter's second Christmas. Howard said getting down the isles and looking for the particular items required a little more effort than one might think, if they hadn't been to such a sale in a while.

"I am glad it is only once a year," she said.

Some shoppers arrived at the store with notebooks that outlined the deals offered by each store as well as their lists complete with sizes and colors preffered.

"It pays to be prepared," said one woman as she made her way through the throng of people waiting for cheap DVD's. She had a list of movie titles written down with the number of each she wanted.

"I never even got close enough to smell the DVD's," said another woman as she stook in line to pay for her items.

Across the shopping center, at another major discounter, people were snagging deals, if they could find a cart to push them around the store.

There apparently hadn't been anyone assigned to go out and gather up the carts after the first wave of shoppers were finished with them.

According to a preliminary Black Friday shopping survey, conducted for the National Retail Federation by BIGresearch, up to 134 million people were expected to shop Friday, Saturday or Sunday. That number is higher than the 128 million people who planned to do so last year. A press release said the survey showed 57 million people said they would definitely hit the stores. Another 77 million people said they were waiting to see what retailers are planning before heading out the door.

"Regardless of what we've already seen these last few weeks in terms of promotions, retailers still have a few tricks up their sleeves to excite Black Friday shoppers," said Tracy Mullin, NRF president. "With retailers fully aware that shoppers are looking for incredible deals, Americans can expect huge sales on popular items like toys, electronics and apparel."

Retailers weren't the only ones profiting Friday from the traditional first day of shopping for the Christmas season. Restaurants that normally cater to business people for breakfast were hoping as those who had turned out to find deals in the early morning hours opted to eat a little breakfast before going home.