Move over, Black Friday. This year, it was Black Thursday. As in Thanksgiving Day.

In a ka-ching start to the holiday shopping season, Toys "R" Us opened its doors at 9 p.m. on Thanksgiving, giving shoppers barely enough time to wrap up the leftovers and shoo out the relatives.

At Arden Fair, Toys "R" Us let shoppers enter in groups of 50, including Carrie Gordon, a North Highlands resident, who had arrived 11 hours earlier – at 10 a.m. – to snag a place in line. About 400 people were waiting with her when the doors opened.

Gordon said her family takes its Black Friday shopping seriously, celebrating Thanksgiving a day early this year in order to be first in line on Thursday. "We save up the whole year for this day," Gordon said.

Other major retailers had staggered openings, from Walmart's 10 p.m. start to more traditional "Midnight Madness" openings at Macy's, Kohl's and Target. Many, such as Sports Authority and J.C. Penney, elected to open at 4 a.m. or 5 a.m. on Black Friday.

All are cautiously optimistic that they can entice recession-weary shoppers to spend. Wells Fargo economists predicted a 5.2 percent increase in 2011 holiday sales, compared with last year.

Based on initial reports, the two-day Black Friday shopping surge appeared to work. "It's better than expected. The extra hours really helped," said Marshal Cohen, chief retail analyst with NPD Group Inc., based near New York. He said toys and electronics stores got the most early-bird traction.

At Westfield Galleria in Roseville, a mall spokeswoman said crowds lined up before midnight at each of the mall's six entrances.

Those who waited until mid-morning hours, after 10 a.m., found shorter lines, fewer crowds and less-clogged parking lots at shopping centers from Sunrise Mall to Natomas Marketplace.

This year, retailers lured shoppers with "door-buster" deals, like $199 for a 42-inch HDTV at Best Buy, or freebies, like free Disney snow globes at J.C. Penney and complimentary breakfast at Sam's Club.

At Sunrise Mall in Citrus Heights, customer traffic was brisk through the early morning, said mall general manager Christi Woodards. Doors opened at 4 a.m., and initial sales appeared to be stronger than last year, she said.

"People are a little happier and are relaxing their purses a little bit," Woodards said. "The anchor stores were happy with what they posted."

Black Friday, traditionally the biggest shopping day of the year in sales volume and foot traffic, is also a consumer sport. For thrill-of-the-hunt bargain shoppers, it's a chance to snag deals – and bragging rights.

But it's not all about the big chains and mall stores. This weekend, the California branch of the National Federation of Independent Business, or NFIB, is urging consumers to shop at locally owned stores in their neighborhoods.

"If you're looking for something unique and want to support your community, then you need to shop at small businesses, too," said John Kabateck, executive director of NFIB's Sacramento office.

Some local stores, like independent retailers Dimple Records and The Beat, served up their own versions of Black Friday specials, with limited-edition sets of vinyl albums from Pink Floyd, Nirvana and the Byrds.

At Collected Works, a Sacramento gift boutique that opened a second store across from the state Capitol earlier this month, a couple dozen shoppers showed up. "Black Friday is more for the malls. We tend to be busier on Saturday and Sunday," said store manager David Gould.

This year, online shoppers were treated to many of the same Black Friday deals found in brick-and-mortar stores. Retailers from Apple to Old Navy were dangling discounts that made it easy to shop from home.

And if you missed Black Friday altogether, next week is still considered prime shopping territory.

According to ShopperTrak, the four weekdays after Black Friday – Monday through Thursday – are the easiest on consumers. Worn-out shoppers stay home or are back at work, meaning shorter lines, fewer crowds and less-frazzled clerks. And, many of the Black Friday discounts are still in place.

Across the country, Black Friday was marred by scattered incidents of fights, a shooting and a woman who pepper-sprayed other customers in an apparent fit of "competitive shopping." Many of the incidents occurred at Walmarts, which opened Thanksgiving night.

In the Sacramento region, a gang-related stabbing took place outside Arden Fair mall at 2:30 a.m. The only shopping-related tension reported was at the Walmart in Woodland.

Joanna Bowen, who showed up looking for a deal on TV sets, described the scene as chaotic, with people frantically tossing crockpots and coffee makers into their shopping carts and pawing through piles of jeans. "They just started grabbing everything. It was bad."

By the time Bowen reached her destination – the 32" Samsung TVs priced at $278 – they had sold out.

An assistant manager at the Woodland Walmart declined to comment.

At Arden Fair Friday morning, Teri Kun of Citrus Heights was loaded down with shopping bags. She already had been to a Target store in the wee hours and bought an XBox 360 and George Foreman grill. "I usually stick to a budget and occasionally go over it … but never under it," she said.

After being up since midnight, Kun said the rest of Black Friday would be "a day of naps."

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Call The Bee's Claudia Buck, (916) 321-1968. Staff writers Rick Daysog, Ed Fletcher and Darrell Smith contributed to this report.

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