Friday, Nov. 29, 2002 | 11:07 a.m.
SUN STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
Bargain-hunters woke before dawn to head to stores and malls today, the official opening of the holiday shopping season, hoping to take advantage of early bird specials on hot toys and electronic items like DVD players.
Shoppers swarmed into the Galleria at Sunset mall in Henderson this morning. People were filling up the parking lot by 8:15 a.m., many with ads under their arms.
Inside Mervyn's, there were two twin checkout lines with more than 40 people in each, stretching about 25 yards long.
Laura Hall, a stocker at a medical warehouse, got up at 5:30 a.m. to shop at Galleria before starting work at 10 a.m.
"I'm feeling pretty tired and we skipped breakfast, but I wanted to get as much done as I can before going to work," she said. "This is the first time I've done this, and I may have to rethink it next year."
Karen Lane, a veteran shopper, dragged Hall along.
"For a first timer, Laura is going good. It's pretty scary inside the toy store," Lane said. "We spent a long time in there and Laura's only complaint was that she was getting hungry."
After hitting Kay-Bee Toys, they were headed to Toys R Us next.
"We're going to go until we drop," she said.
At Kay-Bee Toys, shopper Debbie Clouse bought two large bags of toys for her three boys, an 8-year-old and 4-year-old twins. She said she got up at 4:30 a.m. and got to the mall by 5 a.m.
"I like to get my shopping done today so I don't have to worry about it," she said. "There are also really good deals out there if you get up.
"With her three kids, there are a lot of parties, school events and baking that I have to do, so it's nice to have this done."
Her shopping method has stood the test of time: She's been hitting the stores the day after Thanksgiving for 28 years.
Clouse was headed to Kmart and Wal-Mart next.
"I expect to spend about the same amount of money this year as in previous years," she said. "It's Christmas, you save up all year for this."
By 9 a.m. shoppers were dragging garbage-sized bags around the mall filled with toys.
Some shoppers didn't bother to get dressed -- a number of shoppers were in pajamas.
Hungry shoppers were lined up at Cinnabon, and others were waiting to order corn dogs and burritos at 8:30 a.m.
Mary Thompson, who works for a landscaping company, was shopping for her niece and nephew.
"The economy was much worse last year, so we're not really worrying about it this year," she said while in the food court. "Sept. 11 really hurt the economy last year, but this year we expect to spend what we normally do."
In past years, she got up at 5 a.m. to shop, but this year she slept in. She got up at 7:30 a.m. and went to the Disney store. "I'm a reformed shopper," Thompson said. "I decided to sleep in a little this year."
Jodi McCollins, an employee of the Kitchen Sink, a curio shop, was ready for the influx of shoppers.
"We have extra staff on today because this is usually a busy day with a lot of people wandering through the store," she said.
Four sisters dressed alike: black pants, red socks and red shirts. Over the red shirts were denim shirts embroidered with Santa on skis. Earrings were blinking red Christmas lights.
"We left our daughters at home because they are very embarrassed of us, but we don't care," Cheryl Rodrigues said. "We've been doing this for 12 years and we always dress alike."
The sisters said they planned to shop until 10 p.m. While shopping for their families, they're also going to do a little shopping for themselves.
Las Vegas-area retailers are cautiously optimistic that this year's holiday sales will be an improvement over last year's dismal numbers, and many stores are offering longer hours and perks to pull consumers into stores.
Las Vegas resident Jennifer Blumberg and her mother-in-law Mary Jo Blumberg, of Henderson, were out shopping this week before Thanksgiving -- and had been shopping for the holidays since October.
"I just had a new baby, and I couldn't wait until the last minute," Jennifer Blumberg said. "I don't get much time in the store."
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