After-Christmas Bargains

With price cuts galore and consumers out to buy more, the day after Christmas has become a shopping day to almost rival Black Friday and this year it fell on a Friday.

The advertisements touted "Blowout sales," "Door Busters," "After-Christmas Clearance" and "The Lowest Prices of the Season."

Area stores were busy, but generally not overcrowded, though one woman told a friend in the Sebring Wal-Mart that the Christmas section was so crowded earlier she decided to return there later.

Retailers were prepared with extra staff manning the return counters and the checkouts.

Some stores opened early including JCPenney, which opened its doors at 5:30 a.m.

Store Manager Bruce Horne went to work at 3:30 a.m. preparing for the early shoppers.

"There were quite a few people here at 5:30," he said.

He wouldn't call it a second Black Friday, but people were looking for bargains on Christmas decor.

Armed with a handful of sales fliers, Alice Heaver teamed up with her friend, Nancy Place, to find discounts on Christmas decorations and household items.

By 10 a.m. the Sebring residents had already stopped at three large stores and they were ready for more.

"We still have got a lot to go," Heaver said while shopping at Lakeshore Mall. "Got a lot of shopping done; spent a lot of money."

Place summed up their shopping plan - "basically just looking to see if there's anything we can't live without."

Diane Hawthorne of Lake Placid shopped for clothing for her granddaughter who turns 1 year old today. She also planned to get a couple of pull-over sweaters for her adult son and to shop for herself.

"I think I'm going to get some deals today," she said. "I'm going to go through the mall and then I'm going to go to Super Wal-Mart.

"That's going to be it; I'm not intending to spend too much because I'm not making much," because of the economy, Hawthorne said.

The MacIntosh family from Nova Scotia, Canada, with two children, bought some things they couldn't get back home.

Alan, the head of the family, is a college football fan so he bought a few University of Florida Gators T-shirts.

The family prepared to take advantage of the warm weather here by purchasing swimming goggles and new swimsuits for their children, which they were planning to use soon after shopping.

"Bathing suits are hard to come by at home in Canada right now," Catherine said.

Hannah, 10, said "me and my mom we went on a shopping spree. We went in looking for some 'skinny jeans.'"

Hannah got the jeans and a new outfit and the bathing suit.

Traveling by plane Allan said, "We can't take a lot back with us so we are just picking up a few knickknacks and essentials and if we see a good deal. You can't fill another suitcase and bring it back.

For Lake Placid winter residents Robert and Judy Pernod, the day after Christmas was their first trip to the mall since they returned from Indiana about a month ago.

After eating breakfast at Kmart, Robert sat on a Lakeshore Mall bench and sipped his cup of coffee while his wife shopped.

He didn't know what his wife was shopping for, but he found out soon enough when she showed up with a shopping bag.

Among other items, Judy bought an addition to her bear collection - a tree ornament featuring two bears.

"I like couples and it's fitting for an old couple," she said.

Around 10 a.m. Judy declared there is a lot more shopping to do.

"We are just getting started," she said.

Tammy Mull and her daughters, Jennifer, 19, and Olivia, 13, of Lake Placid, hit the stores at 7 a.m.

"This was worth having to sacrifice not getting to sleep late," Tammy said.

She was shopping for a watch for her son and anything that's 50 percent or more off.

After putting five bags in the car and taking a pause in the mall food court, they were gearing up for more shopping.