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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; They wore antlers and special T-shirts with &#8220;Don&#8217;t get your tinsel in a tangle&#8221; across the front.</p><p>The four women were celebrating their 20th anniversary of Black Friday shopping together, and they were seriously having fun.</p><p>Meighan Magistro, of Mountain Top, and her three friends &#8212; Caitlin Cooper, Johnyne Hoyes and Keera Tabor, all of Dallas &#8212; were leaving Dick&#8217;s Sporting Goods in the Arena Hub Plaza on Friday morning around 8 a.m., each of them carrying bags filled with bargains.</p><p>&#8220;Did we find any bargains? Oh, yeah,&#8221; Magistro said. &#8220;That&#8217;s what we do. We know how to shop.&#8221;</p><p>Cooper said the group got together to formulate their game plan. This year the stops included Walmart, Target, Dick&#8217;s, the Wyoming Valley Mall, Kohl&#8217;s, Kmart, Michael&#8217;s and more. They said the crowds this year weren&#8217;t nearly as bad as previous Black Fridays.</p><p>The four women have 10 children between them. They said they found most of what they were looking for and, most importantly, they got a lot of good deals.</p><p>&#8220;I think a lot of people do online shopping,&#8221; Hayes said. &#8220;And a lot of people probably came out last (Thanksgiving) night because a lot of stores were open.&#8221;</p><p>Magistro said the T-shirts are different every year. She said this year&#8217;s theme of &#8220;Don&#8217;t get your tinsel in a tangle&#8221; is their way of telling fellow Black Friday bargain hunters to refrain from getting upset.</p><p>&#8220;In past years, the crowds were much bigger,&#8221; Tabor said. &#8220;I remember people sleeping in tents to be at the front of the line.&#8221;</p><p>That&#8217;s where Todd Phillips, of Weatherly, found himself at 4:30 a.m. Friday. Phillips said it was his first venture out on a Black Friday. He and about 50 others were there to score a 55-inch Sharp TV at Best Buy, advertised for $249.99.</p><p>&#8220;I had two coffees, so I&#8217;m good,&#8221; Phillips said. &#8220;The TV is a gift for the house. It will replace our 32-inch Sony.&#8221;</p><p>As the line outside of Best Buy grew, people were getting antsy, wondering if there were going to be enough of the big screen TVs to go around. A couple of Best Buy employees came out with coupons in hand, guaranteeing the first 25 people in line that they would get their sought-after, 55-inch Sharp television.</p><p>But not everybody in line was waiting for the Sharp TV. Jason Kocher, of Larksville, was second in line, but he was there to get a 55-inch Samsung Ultra HD TV for $479.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m saving $320,&#8221; Kocher said.</p><p>John Rodriguez, of Kingston, said he started his shopping odyssey at 9 p.m. Thanksgiving night. He said he had been to Toys-R-Us, Walmart, the mall, Kmart, Target and Best Buy.</p><p>&#8220;Basically I&#8217;ve been everywhere that was open,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We saved a lot of money. There are a lot of good deals out there, so the time spent is well worth it.&#8221;</p><p>Down the line at Best Buy, Renee Buchanan and Lisa Vernalis, of Shenandoah, were waiting &#8212; and hoping &#8212; to get one of the Sharp 55-inch TVs for $249.99. They were purchasing it for the volunteer fire company they belong to in their town. They were thrilled when they got their voucher from the Best Buy employee, guaranteeing them the TV.</p><p>&#8220;Actually, this is mild for Black Friday,&#8221; Buchanan said of the small crowd. &#8220;I think Thanksgiving shopping took away a lot of Black Friday shoppers.&#8221;</p><p>Buchanan and Vernalis had a game-plan too &#8212; after Best Buy, which opened at 8 a.m., they were heading to Dick&#8217;s. Michael&#8217;s, Pet Smart, the mall and then the outlets in Tannersville. But they said they also planned another stop before heading to Tannersville.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;re going to stop at the Mohegan Sun casino,&#8221; Vernalis said. &#8220;With all the money we&#8217;re saving at the sales, maybe we can hit a jackpot.&#8221;</p><p>Buchanan said her kids and her dogs were tops on her list.</p><p>&#8220;Pet Smart has a great sale going on,&#8221; she said. &#8220;Dog toys are 50 percent off. And we have to get a lot of those big bones. My dogs even open their own presents.&#8221;</p><p>Brian Schlauch, of Eagle Rock, was waiting to buy TVs for his kids.</p><p>&#8220;They don&#8217;t even want the big ones that are on sale,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I don&#8217;t even know why I&#8217;m standing in line.&#8221;</p><p>Nicole Karotko, of Hughestown, said she was shopping Thanksgiving night and got a lot accomplished. But she had to return to Best Buy Friday for a TV.</p><p>&#8220;It wasn&#8217;t too crowded last night,&#8221; she said.</p><p>A person in line said Dick&#8217;s had sold out of ammo &#8212; apparently hunters looking to prepare for Monday&#8217;s opening of deer season.</p><p>&#8220;I heard Dick&#8217;s sold about $45,000 worth of ammo last night,&#8221; the person said. &#8220;I know I went to buy some and I was told they were sold out.&#8221;</p><p>The crowd at Pet Smart was huge, as the line at the checkout stretched to the back of the store and back. Briar Woodley and her mom, Linda, of Clarks Summit, were loading the back of their vehicle with bags of dog food and plenty of toys.</p><p>&#8220;We bought a lot for our pets,&#8221; Linda said. &#8220;It&#8217;s really crowded in there. They have a great sale on kitty litter.&#8221;</p><p>Mike Tribendis, of Dallas, was guiding two shopping carts filled with dog food and toys. He said he saved about $137 at the Pet Smart sale.</p><p>&#8220;We have an English sheepdog named Annabelle,&#8221; he said. &#8220;She is going to have a very merry Christmas.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Nicole Karotko of Hughestown, left, waits in line with Brian Schlauch of Eagle Rock, and Lisa Vernalis and Renee Buchanan, both of Shenandoah, outside Best Buy in Wilkes-Barre Township before the 8 a.m. opening on Black Friday morning. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_BlackFriday2.jpg</photo0><caption0>Nicole Karotko of Hughestown, left, waits in line with Brian Schlauch of Eagle Rock, and Lisa Vernalis and Renee Buchanan, both of Shenandoah, outside Best Buy in Wilkes-Barre Township before the 8 a.m. opening on Black Friday morning. </caption0><photoCredit0>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_BlackFriday3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Briar Woodley of Clarks Summit loads 35-pound bags of dog food into her car she bought at PetSmart in Wilkes-Barre Township on Black Friday morning. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_BlackFriday3.jpg</photo1><caption1>Briar Woodley of Clarks Summit loads 35-pound bags of dog food into her car she bought at PetSmart in Wilkes-Barre Township on Black Friday morning. </caption1><photoCredit1>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_BlackFriday4.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Mike Tribendia of Dallas, left, Betsy Tribendis of Shavertown, and Megan Pitts of Dallas bought cartloads of dog supplies on sale at PetSmart in Wilkes-Barre Township on Black Friday morning. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_BlackFriday4.jpg</photo2><caption2>Mike Tribendia of Dallas, left, Betsy Tribendis of Shavertown, and Megan Pitts of Dallas bought cartloads of dog supplies on sale at PetSmart in Wilkes-Barre Township on Black Friday morning. </caption2><photoCredit2>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_BlackFriday5.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Shoppers roam the halls of Wyoming Valley Mall shortly after 7 a.m. on Black Friday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_BlackFriday5.jpg</photo3><caption3>Shoppers roam the halls of Wyoming Valley Mall shortly after 7 a.m. on Black Friday. </caption3><photoCredit3>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_BlackFriday1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Sisters Caitlyn Cooper of Dallas, left, and Meighan Magistro of Mountain Top meet up with sisters Keera Tabor and Johnyne Hoyes, both of Dallas, after shopping for friends and family at Dick&#8217;s Sporting Goods in Wilkes-Barre Township on Black Friday morning. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_BlackFriday1.jpg</photo4><caption4>Sisters Caitlyn Cooper of Dallas, left, and Meighan Magistro of Mountain Top meet up with sisters Keera Tabor and Johnyne Hoyes, both of Dallas, after shopping for friends and family at Dick&#8217;s Sporting Goods in Wilkes-Barre Township on Black Friday morning. </caption4><photoCredit4>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit4></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Bill O&#8217;Boyle</p><p>boboyle@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Bill O&#8217;Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Big TVs, sporting goods and pet toys top Black Friday deals