HOUSTON – By the time the afternoon rolled around on Thanksgiving, some people traded the turkey dinner in for a shopping cart as stores opened at 5 p.m.
“This is the 11th year I've been out here; It's a tradition with my mother-in-law. We have a great time,” said Melissa SanAngelo, who was shopping at Toys”R”Us for her family.
The toy store, which is located at Bunk Hill, had a slow start as the doors opened at 5 p.m., but at Best Buy in the stopping center nearby, it was a different story.
"I haven't done this in maybe like four or five years and it's still kind of crazy," said Luis Palafox, who was looking for video games and controllers.
Many people were walking away with TVs, specifically 4K, but for a lot of people, the sales are an opportunity to buy new appliances.
"We flooded, we were part of the Harvey reservoir flooding on the west side and felt like this was the week. I got the furniture and the appliances," shopper Katie Menhert said.
"Since we re-opened, (there have been) a lot of sad stories and our objective is to have merchandise for them whether that's appliances, TVs, printers computers -- make sure we have it in stock for them,” said Silverio Rodgriguez, who is the general manager for the Best Buy at Bunker Hill.
Best Buy closes at 1 a.m. Friday, but will open up again at 8 a.m.