Black Friday Shopping tips

It is hard to believe that the time for Thanksgiving and Christmas shopping is right around the corner. I have a few tips that I have inquired from Women's World magazine that should help us all out a little bit.
1. Check sites such as BFAds.net and BlackFriday.GottaDeal.com for early copies of Black Friday circulars.
2. Compare prices on site such as: BlackFriday.com, Bizrate.com, or PriceSpider.com
3. Plan your route, make sure you read the small print in the ads. Some stores may have 1,000 items on sale and another may only have 20. You will need to decide which store to hit first. Having a bargain buddy could help with this (see item #5  )
4. Call ahead and see where things will be located. You can also check on line to see if the store has a posted a floor plan map. A lot of stores pass out the floor plans for deals while you are standing in line, others have them as you enter the store. It is always better to check online first to help plan your route ahead of time.
5.  Bring along buddies to help you. Divide and conquer in a couple of ways. One way to use the buddy system is to go to different stores to get different deals at the same time. Another way is to go in different directions in the same store to get deals.
6. Have a shopping cart guard. Between crowds and very narrow aisles it is almost impossible to navigate a store with a shopping cart on Black Friday. Your arms can only hold so much and if you leave your cart unattended everything you worked so hard to obtain will be gone in seconds. So have someone stay with the cart while you go and seek items. If you have someone waiting in a big ticket item line they are perfect for watching the cart and in exchange for them watching the cart you can go out and get other deals for them.
8. When waiting with a buddy for a great item to be reveled have a plan. Which one of you will get what, from which side, how, and where to meet once you are done. Please be careful not to beat up the person you are working with, we all know things can get crazy sometimes. (Sorry Nikki- I promise this year not to beat you up. Jillian is talking about Monster High Dolls this year so we may need up in that mess again!) 
7. When checking out head for the cash registers to the left of the store. We are programmed to go tot he right which leaves the registers to the left not as crowded.

Other tips and tricks:
1. Keep track of who you need to buy for and what you are getting them.  Print out a free Christmas gift organizer at: Household-Management-101.com/christmas-gift-list.html, iMom.com/tools/seasonal/christmas/money-saving-christmas-gift-planner, or Ellinee.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/giftplanner.pdf.
2. Skip the sweet sugar snacks, pop, and candy while shopping. Instead get a burger, pepperoni pizza or other high- protein snack.
3. When possible sniff something lavender: lotion, candle, perfume. This will help you feel calm and serene in seconds.

Good luck and happy shopping.!
Do you have some tips or tricks you would like to share?
I will be posted my funny Black Friday Shopping stories soon and I would love to hear yours!!!!