Gobbling up savings

Ducking dishes or getting jump on Christmas, shoppers hit the stores

By JANICE PODSADA

Herald Writer

EVERETT — Why would anyone go shopping on Thanksgiving Day?

For April Anderson, it was her chance to avoid mashing the potatoes.

Several area stores — including Kmart, Safeway, Walgreens and Rite Aid — kept their doors open to shoppers and shirkers alike Thanksgiving Day.

Anderson, of Lynnwood, and her brother, Michael Bender of Seattle, ducked out of kitchen duty Thursday to take in the bright lights and big aisles of the Evergreen Way Kmart.

"We’re avoiding helping with dinner," Anderson confessed.

Bender tagged along with his younger sister, convinced that had he stayed home, Mom would have volunteered him to slice up the cheese ball.

"We needed a break from the guys watching football and the women squabbling in the kitchen," Bender explained.

Sales rang throughout stores Thursday afternoon as hundreds of shoppers willingly handed over credit cards, checks and old-fashioned hard cash.

"That will be $21.65."

"That will be $111.54."

Some people came for the price cuts.

The 19-inch, $98 color TV, a Turkey Day special at Kmart, was the big seller, said store manager Dave Blumenstein.

Other customers ignored the specials just to wile away the hours.

Samantha Kraft of Everett viewed her trip to the store as the logical alternative to doing the dishes.

Ditch the in-laws, let dinner digest, duck out on the dishes —just some of the reasons people said they took to the store Thanksgiving Day.

But how shoppers escaped their family obligations or Turkey Day duties varied.

Some were covert about their intended activities.

John Kyle of Marysville and Samantha White of Bothell told their families that with all that good gravy in the works, they’d have to run out for more napkins.

"We didn’t really need these," said Kyle, pointing to a short stack of cream-colored napkins in his shopping cart.

"It was just a way to get out of the house."

Kyle and White spent most of the afternoon in the toy section, plunking out a tune on a child’s toy computer.

Others were blatant about their activities.

"It’s a family tradition to go shopping today," said Noell Piersawl.

Piersawl and Darnea Gillespie used the afternoon to get in a few practice rounds before today’sf shopping spree.

The two women planned to get up at 4:30 a.m. today to make the 6 a.m. start time at Alderwood Mall.

They joined hundreds of others today willing to sacrifice sleep for a chance to snatch up a sale item.

"When you know you are going shopping, the alarm is not a problem," Piersawl explained.

"Every Thanksgiving it gets more crowded," said Nancy Marl, Kmart ladies wear manager.

"There’s a lot of ball games on. So Mom and the kids come in," said Marl as she straightened an "Everything $9.99" sale rack.

"Oh, got to go," said Marl, after a frantic voice came booming over the store’s intercom like an air-raid siren:

"Back up at lay away, please. Back up at lay away. Cashiers to the front."