It happens every year; the Friday after Thanksgiving marks the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season. Stores open at absurd hours and people wait in line anxiously to get their hands on highly demanded products at the lowest prices.

A few SMU students have some advice when it comes to Black Friday shopping.

“Be prepared to wait in line everywhere you go,” sophomore Gigi Harris said. “Patience is key.”

“Make sure you have good company. Cranky people aren’t fun to shop with,” sophomore Rachel Kennedy said.

“Plan ahead!” Senior Liz Meyer said.

In past years, some stores go as far as to post promotional sales all weekend long and open even earlier (some at midnight on Thanksgiving night). Friday has been dubbed “the busiest shopping day of the entire year.” and sales over the four-day weekend can total billions of dollars.

“I usually go to the mall on Black Friday with my sister and visit a lot of different stores just for the experience and fun,” junior Shelby Kehr said. “Most of the stores keep sales all weekend long though, so I recommend going on a different day unless you want to stand in line for an hour and a half to checkout with an ugly sweater.”

Shoppers can find discounts and coupons on sites all over the Internet from BlackFriday.com, to store specific sites like Walmart and Target.

“My family spreads coupons out all over the table after Thanksgiving dinner and makes a game plan for which stores we will visit. My advice is to collect as many coupons as you can and be prepared,” Meyer said.

This year’s Black Friday is Nov. 27, 2015.