The Friday which falls the day after Thanksgiving is also known as Black Friday, one of the biggest shopping days of the year. Over the past years it has been marked as the start of the Christmas shopping season, where many stores open up to sell their products, offering some of the best deals of the year.

Over the past decades, the Black Friday deals have been known to start around 6:00 a.m. on Friday morning. However as the years have progressed, stores have started their sales earlier and earlier, with some opening as early as 6:00 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day.

These stores have planned out their strategies by only having their large sales on Black Friday, it adds urgency for the customers to buy the products before they sell out, and creates more chaos for the day.

To avoid as much chaos as possible it is important to remember these tips:

1. Make your shopping list.

Make a list including the people you need to shop for and what you would like to buy them. This not only keeps your shopping trip organized, but also keeps you from grabbing everything you see on the shelf just because it has a deal, and will help you limit yourself to only buying what you actually want.

2. Get Prepared.

Do some research and find out what deals the stores you want to go to are offering and what time they will be offering these deals. Plan according to this and hit the stores with the best deals first.

3. Go With a Friend.

Find someone who has similar shopping skills to go with you and can entertain you. Have one person stand in line while the other shops. This will make it easier to surpass the crowds and long waits in lines.

4. Be Prepared for the Crowds.

Regardless of how you feel, there will still be many people out and about. The more you stress over it, the worse your day will turn out. Be prepared to arrive fairly early so you can wait in line and have a good first pick of deals that are offered.

5. Check the Online Deals First.

Many stores will offer deals somewhat equivalent to the ones in stores. Shop at the stores who do offer online deals at home. This will give you more time to spend catching all of the in-store sales and will lessen the crowds.

6. Bring the Ad with You.

Some stores might have problems with the discounts ringing up and bringing the ad helps ensure that the cashier will give you the discount. Some stores also have price-matching policies, and you might be able to receive the discount that a competitor is offering while also saving yourself a trip to the next store.

7. Stay Home.

If all else fails and the crowds do not seem appealing to you, you can always stay home and relax, and wait until the following Monday (Cyber Monday) where stores will have sales online only.