BATON ROUGE – Thousands took advantage of Black Friday deals, some waiting overnight to be the first in stores when they opened Friday morning, however the crowds weren't as thick as they usually are.

Some shoppers woke up early to get their Christmas shopping done.

"We were up late last night partying for Thanksgiving, spending time with family and everything. So, we're just here getting some Christmas shopping done, looking at the deals before we start grabbing stuff," Jo Hilliard, one shopper, said.

A new Black Thursday tradition has eased up on the amount of previously aggressive crowds, surprising to some. Shoppers also found some of their best deals on Thanksgiving day.

"I think our biggest sale was JC Penny. They have some coupon thing going on. You walk in the door and they give you $500 off $500, that's like one in a million, but they were giving out really good coupons. So we went there yesterday, because they started their Black Friday sales yesterday," Hilliard said.

For other shoppers, the mall was the last stop on the Black Friday adventures this morning.

"We went to Gulfport and everything tonight," Luke Colona, shopper, said.

"Yeah, we've been shopping since like 7 a.m., we got here at like 2 p.m.," Karleigh Griffin, shopper with Colona, said.

For those who spent the night shopping, there is one thing in particular they are looking forward to.

"Sleep, like all day. Maybe tomorrow too,"Griffin said.

This year, shoppers are expected to spend $27 billion, making it the second biggest shopping day of the year.