Early mornings full of frantic moms, vicious dads, and screaming children mobbing their way through enormous crowds in panic trying to find exactly what they want.

The craziest day out of the year for all shoppers is the Friday after Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday. Every year on this day, stores have their biggest sales, and crowds of people swarm the stores at the crack of dawn just to get what they want before it is sold out at every store.

“I usually wake up at 4:00 or even 3:30am,” Katie Carpenter, junior, said. “It’s so crowded at the stores. Everyone is running around, and the lines are huge.”

Stores are packed with angry shoppers aggressively pushing their way through long lines to get their holiday shopping out of the way while everything is on sale for a reasonable price.

“I get all of my Christmas shopping done,” Thomasine Sczesnak, district mother and Black Friday shopper, said. “I’m always successful with finding what I need on Black Friday.”

Although, according to Carpenter, the brutal scavenger hunt for the best prices is not always the easiest thing to do first thing in the morning, especially if you are not a morning person.

“It’s not always that I find everything in my size,” Carpenter said. “You really have to beat everyone else to it. Every year I debate if I should go because it gets pretty stressful.”

On Black Friday, the majority of people do not go to all of the small stores so they can avoid the stress of big groups of people in small areas. Instead, people go to the bigger stores inside the mall.

“Woodfield mall itself wasn’t that crowded,” Sczesnak said. “Although, the Macy’s inside the mall was packed.”

To prevent getting to the stores too late in the morning, most shoppers arrive at the stores at the break of dawn. Most shoppers try to get done early so they can go home and take a break after a long, early, and stressful morning of Christmas shopping.

“This year I will probably go to the mall around 4am,” Sczesnak said.

After an early morning of crazy shoppers running around and waiting in long lines to get their shopping done, most people like to get home early so they can go back to bed.

“I usually stay at the mall until around 6:30 or 7:00am until I have to go back to sleep,” Carpenter said.

Regardless of all the commotion at the stores, getting up early to go shopping can be exciting, in a way, even if you are not a morning person.

“It’s a great way to have fun while getting and doing something nice for the people you love,” Carpenter said. “It’s quality fun to have with your friends or family while looking for gifts.”

What is Cyber Monday?

Like Black Friday, Cyber Monday is the same thing; instead, for online shopping.

When does this event take place?

This annual event falls once each year on the Monday following Black Friday. This year, it takes place on Monday, December 2.

What kind of things can you buy?

Anything can be bought on this day. It is whatever sales that stores put up for their customers.