The delicious Thanksgiving meal is over, and the leftover turkey tucked into the refrigerator. Each family heads back home to recover from their feast and get plenty of rest in preparation for the infamous day-after-Thanksgiving. Let the shopping frenzy begin.

As minds switch from turkey dinners to holiday shopping, stores accommodate their shoppers by opening as early as five a.m. The annual tradition of long lines and mad dashes to find the perfect gifts for friends and family begins this year on Nov. 26.

“The stores always have some pretty good sales the day after Thanksgiving,” Carina Moran,’05, said. “One year my mom and I woke up early to get to the stores before they opened, and we were shocked by the large crowds of people who had had the same idea.”

Stores offer incentives to entice shoppers to take advantage of their great deals. The most devoted shoppers will let nothing stand in the way of them and the gifts that they need to obtain.

“I think it is so ridiculous that people actually get up that early to go shopping,” Nick Carrera, ’05, said. “Then, to top it off, they get angry that they have to wait in line for hours. It doesn’t make any sense to me why they wait to go shopping until it’s the busiest time of the year.”

If you are headed to the stores this Friday, be prepared for long hours of waiting in line and hostile shoppers who are searching for their gifts on their endless list. Although department stores offer great sales for the early risers, it may not be worth the potential aggravation.

“I have gotten some really great deals on Christmas gifts for my friends during early sales,” Moran said. “I might go shopping this Friday, but I don’t know if I am really up to dealing with so many people. But, the longer I wait, the more stress I know I will have to deal with later.”

The thought of finding the perfect gift at the perfect price may be a good enough reason for many to go shopping on the traditional after-Thanksgiving shopping day. The stores have used this day as a way to increase their profits by drawing large crowds who are ready to put forth as much money as it takes to put a dent in their holiday shopping list.

“I don’t like how stores use the whole holiday season to focus in on shopping,” Carrera said. “It takes away from the real meaning and really can ruin it for a lot of people. They make so much money during this time of year, and people become consumed in the shopping world.”

Whether you look forward to taking advantage of the sales or plan to sleep in while others scurry off to the mall, let the countdown to Christmas begin.