Just like turkey, football, and the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Black Friday has become a holiday tradition. Many consumers rush into stores to find great after-Thanksgiving deals.

Black Friday traditionally kicks off the holiday shopping season, and in Valencia County, it's no different.

Shoppers were out early to take advantage of early bird sales on Black Friday. Los Lunas resident Leeann Maestas went to Walmart at 4 a.m.

"It was a madhouse in there," Maestas said. "The lines to check out went all over the place. Last year, I bought one TV, this year I bought two. I'm trying to get rid of all my box TVs."

Maestas has been buying electronics and clothes, taking advantage of sale bargains.

"It's nice not to have to pay $50 for a pair of pants, and get two or three pairs instead. It's like a family here," she said. "In Albuquerque, there's grabbing and pushing. Here, if they see you with a big box, they offer to help you."

Walmart's Black Friday sale started at 5 and ran to 11 a.m.

Cesar Cervantes and Marcelle Cano came to the Los Lunas Walmart from Albuquerque because the Albuquerque stores ran out of the sale items they sought.

"This is a good price — under $600 for a 50-inch TV," said Cervantes. "They're all out in Albuquerque."

Leo Carbajal and Steven Apodaca stand perplexed with a customer and his 50-inch Sanyo television they purchased. They can't fit the box in his SUV.

"I've helped load five of these TVs myself," said Apodaca, "and that's not including the other guys."

"There's been a ton of people since 5 a.m." adds Carbajal.

Elk City, Okla., resident Jesus Dominguez has family in Los Lunas. He said the sales here are about the same as Oklahoma.

"I'm finding good deals," he said. "There's better prices on Black Friday."

Victoria Flores went to Albuquerque to shop, but came back home empty handed.

"I went to the Coronado Mall at 4 a.m.," she said, "but I didn't find anything. I came back here and found everything I needed. I spent $265. We really should shop locally."

Loretta Aragon agrees.

"I went to Best Buy in Albuquerque looking for a good computer deal, but didn't find it. I came back (to Los Lunas) because I always go to Home Depot to buy tools for my husband for Christmas."

"This is the end of our quest," says her daughter, Leona Perea, who is nine months pregnant and due any day.

"She called me to go shopping," Aragon said, "and I just wanted to be with my daughter. I want to be there when the baby comes. Maybe she'll have it today."

Deana Moody manages The Shoe Dept. in the same shopping square as Walmart. She was busy setting up a display of shoes in front of the store.

"After the door busters, we'll get our hit — after 11.," Moody said. " If all the calls I received yesterday is any indication, this year is going to be better than last year. I can even tell by the Walmart, it's busier this year."

Albuquerque resident Mario Miakos is taking advantage of the store's sales. He makes his shoe purchase and says, "I was on my way to Home Depot. It's so easy; I get on I-25 and shoot down here, slide in the door. In Albuquerque, it would take longer just to get through traffic."

Sarah Martinez said she did most of her shopping online before November.

"Same budget as last year, but there's better deals this year," Martinez said.

"If I'd have gotten here earlier, I'd have found more," said Los Lunas resident Kelly Silvis. "I did a lot of ad comparisons. I don't think people are looking for the big electronics so much as the smaller stuff, computers and MP3s. There's still twenty 50 inch TVs in there."

Gene Gonzales was just stopping in.

"I'm just shopping for what I need," Gonzales said. "If I find a good deal, I'll buy it. I'm done with my Christmas shopping. I put everything on layaway in July."

Some shoppers said they thought the stores were busier this year. A few said they weren't buying more this year than last year.

"I'm looking for better deals," said Home Depot shopper Jan Garcia, who lives in Los Lunas.

"It seems better this year than last year," Garcia said. "Actually, I'm pretty pleased. I just ran into Home Depot to see if they had what I wanted for my husband, and they did. Woo hoo!"

But long lines and endless streams of people were almost nonexistent after the early morning rush for this year's Black Friday at most Belen stores.

By about 8:30 a.m., the calm had hit local retailers and the shopping experience seemed business as usual for some area stores that saw a surge in the early morning hours of the biggest shopping day of the year.

At the Belen Walmart, employees said about 20 registers were operational with customers buying everything from televisions to vacuum cleaners in an effort to get the best deals for the holiday season. Belen police were on hand at Walmart as a safety precaution for the larger anticipated crowds on Friday.

"(Walmart officials) requested a police presence this year," said Belen Police Lt. Robert Miller. "Any time you have a large amount of people, you could have any type of thefts and any type of violence. You never know what can happen."

Walmart cashier Sandi Romero said last year a fist fight broke out between customers who were arguing over a television set. She said this year shoppers were a lot more calm and there were no unruly customers during the shopping extravaganza.

Romero said the dip in sales later in the day might have had to do with the some stores that had specials for a few hours instead of the entire day. For example, Walmart had televisions and laptop computers at a discount rate from 5 to 11 a.m., and Sears had "door buster" sales on lawn mowers and washer and dryers from 4 a.m. to noon.

"They all came at 5 o'clock in the morning to get the good deals," Romero said. "This place was packed. But everyone was more in control this year. (The shoppers) had their stuff together."

Romero said she thought the shopping burst beat last year's sales, and said she had one order that was about $1,000 from a customer that bought electronics and toys.

"I got into the parking lot at 4:30 a.m. and I thought, 'My God, I didn't know that many people lived in Belen,'" said Walmart employee Tonya Hasenjaeger.

But Bency and Dennelle Vigil, both Rio Communities residents, didn't have to deal with large crowds. The couple said they were surprised they didn't have to wait in long lines and found a couple of deals along the way.

"We are just here doing our regular shopping," Dennelle Vigil said. "But we found a good deal on a card table and chairs."

Belen resident Katie Cernius said she called her mother, Annette, who was already at Bealls, to make sure there were no crowds. Cernius said she went to Target a few years ago with lines wrapped around the building.

"The lines went all the way around the inside of the store," Cernius said. "I'm going to stick to the stores in town this year."