MIDLAND, Texas — It’s that time of November where people stop eating their Thanksgiving meals and start looking for those Black Friday Deals.
"So Thanksgiving, usually in the evening," said shopper Kandra Harper. "We all sit down and we all plan out our Black Friday shopping. We're all together, but we make a big deal on Friday."
"We got to truly enjoy Thanksgiving yesterday with our families," said shopper Tonya Coke. "So it's been really fun today knowing that our kids are at home all warm and cozy and we can come out in shop and have some fun."
The Midland Park Mall was flooded with Black Friday shoppers, and despite the weather being a little on the gloomy side, that didn’t stop everyone from taking advantage of some deals.
"From shopping online in front of your computer in front of the fireplace and heating and everything," said shopper Eric Lozano. "I think a lot of people would prefer to do that. But hey, it's good to come out and get some fresh air even if it's cold."
"I'm starting to get a little cold but that’s alright I’m still gonna do it," Harper said while laughing.
There’s a stigma that all Black Fridays are the craziest Friday’s of the year, but this year, it’s been more on the tame side.
"Well, I think from 2019 and before they definitely got packed and definitely you saw people lining up, camping, stuff like that," Lozano said.
"This has actually very mild, hardly anything but usually it is chaotic," Harper said. "I mean if you are not at the store starting at 5:30 in the morning, you're not gonna get what you want."
"It hasn't been that crazy today," Coke said. "But in years past, I've seen this be really wild."
"I think it was very notable that things have changed," Lozano said.
Things have changed, especially with the pandemic changing shopping a couple of years ago with the popularization of online shopping.
"It saves you on gas and having to deal with social anxiety since a lot of us were were staying at home for a while," Lozano said.
But for all these shoppers, there’s something about in person shopping that you can’t get on the computer screen.
"It's wonderful to get to do that [online shopping]," Coke said. "But then we'd like to come out just for the experience to say we came shopping."
"I like the interaction," shopper Kaity West said. "It just kind of makes it feel like Christmas when you're out and about shopping and all the people and the lights and things, but being at home, it's convenient, but it's a takeaway from that experience."
It goes to show that nothing will stop people from that special Black Friday feeling: not rain, not sleet, not snow and not a computer screen.