The best deals on Black Friday

Let’s face it: As soon as your Halloween sugar rush wore off, holiday sale season was in full, frenzied swing. But for the true bargain hunters among us, Black Friday remains the main event, the undisputed High Holy Day of Cheap Stuff. (Although — insert judgy headshake here — most sales kick off on Thanksgiving.)

Braving the crowds this year? Here are the retailers that made our list — which, of course, we checked twice.

Old Navy
Starting at 4 p.m. on Thanksgiving and lasting through Friday, all Old Navy merchandise will be 50 percent off. If you’re one of the first 100 customers in line, you’ll get a chance card that could be worth $1 million, which may or may not make up for missing Thanksgiving.

Target
The good people at Target put together a holiday sales package that is brimming with deals — and takes a solid 45 minutes to decipher. Here are the Black Friday highlights (which yes, you do owe us for): iPad Air 2 16GB plus a $140 Target Gift Card for $499, Beats by Dre Solo HD Headphones for $97, Sony PlayStation 4 plus two games for $399 and 40 percent off apparel and select LEGO sets.

JCPenney
Kicking off on Thursday at 5 p.m., doorbusters at Penney’s include $2.99 bath towels, $9.99 kitchen electronics and 60 percent off holiday trim and decor. As is the tradition here, coupons are plentiful and you will have to drag your mom out.

Staples
An unexpected Black Friday heavyweight, Staples doesn’t disappoint this year. In addition to the weeklong sales, Black Friday in-store deals (beginning Thursday, of course) include a $39.99 Android 7-inch tablet from JLab and a $99.99 Samsung Galaxy Tablet Lite.

Steve Madden
Look, we can’t pretend to get excited about the free charm bracelet that Steve Madden is handing out on Black Friday. But we do love their partnership with Uber: For every purchase you make at the shoe store, you’ll receive a code for an Uber voucher that you can use anytime (including on Friday, when you and those shopping bags could use a lift).

Walmart
Ah, yes: Ground Zero on Black Friday. Deals vary at each location, so head to Walmart
.com for the local breakdown, as well as a map of each store so you know where to run when the doors open (but really, don’t do that). If you’re one of the first 100 people in line for Thursday’s 6 p.m. opening, you’re guaranteed to get the markdown price on select items, even if they sell out, including Vizio’s 65-inch LED HDTV for $648.

H&M
Line up early for scratch-off coupons at H&M, which will go to the first 100 shoppers. There are deals to be had all week, but Friday-only specials include $4.95 women’s sweaters, $9.95 men’s plaid button-downs and $5 shirts for the kiddos.

Best Buy
Doorbusters abound at Best Buy, which opens at 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving and then has Friday hours starting at 8 a.m. In addition to the usual heavily discounted TVs (including an in-store-only Panasonic 50-inch LED HDTV for $199) you can also pick up $10 DVDs and a $1 Samsung Galaxy S5 – with a two-year contract because, real talk, nothing is $1.

Tip

Spoiler alert
Look, we appreciate the Black Friday hunt. We do. But we’d be remiss not to mention that very few stores are offering any deals as good as those on Amazon, which has rolled out an aggressive Black Friday takeover plan over the past couple years. The downside: If you never leave your couch, you can’t get Mall Breakfast — and Mall Breakfast is important.

Online-only offers
Stay in your jammies and pay a visit to these online retailers.

Sandro
Cash in at this French “It” label with up to 50 percent off the fall collection and 10 percent off sale- and full-price styles on Black Friday through Cyber Monday at Us.sandro-paris.com.

Giejo Swim
Warm-weather getaway in your holiday plans? Giejo Swim is offering 50 percent off its entire site, including sale merchandise, Thursday through Monday at Giejo
.com. When you’re checking out, enter the code THANKSGIVING50.