MACON, Ga. — It's time to put down the Thanksgiving leftovers and pick up your wallet.
The Black Friday deals are just starting, and it's time to start Christmas shopping!
Many businesses, both nationwide and locally, have geared up their best bargains and deals for their customers for Black Friday.
For many shoppers, it's a family tradition. In Macon, on Black Friday, many families were seen shopping around and enjoying the yearly tradition.
Javier Martir drove from Warner Robins to check out The Bohemian Den in Downtown Macon.
He says he's from New York but loves the small-town feel of Downtown Macon. When it comes to Black Friday shopping, he's shopping locally for the deals and to give back to the community.
"Yeah, I am shopping, Christmas shopping. It's a perfect day to do that!" Martir said. "A lot of people don't like Black Friday shopping, but I love it. Even for somebody like me, which might sound weird, I don't like to shop online as much. I really like that in-person type of feel because shopping in person, you're able to get it right there and then, but then also you're getting to experience different people, like nice people who work in here, and it just; it brings such an amazing feel to customers."
When it comes to the local businesses, they prepare year-round.
Angela Stallard owns Heart Of Gypsy Boutique off of Bass Rd. in Macon and just opened another location in Kathleen.
Stallard is right across from some big box stores. For Black Friday, however, she had 15 customers waiting outside her store before opening.
She finds it refreshing for people to go outside to shop.
"Online shopping is great, but there's just nothing like stepping into an actual store," Stallard said. "It's just fun to be with your people while you're shopping; it's just a whole experience that you don't get online."
According to the National Retail Federation, the Thanksgiving holiday weekend is one of the busiest shopping days of the year. About 182 million people plan to shop in-store and online from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday this year. That's 15 million more people than last year.