And they're off ... with bargains as their goal

Lashawn Steward cut back on going out, having her hair done and shopping for herself in the past few months. The Norfolk resident left home with her savings at 5:30 a.m. Friday.

By 10 a.m. she had hit four Wal-Marts plus the Toys R Us off Lynnhaven Parkway in Virginia Beach. She bought a flat-screen TV, a LeapFrog child's game system, two basketball hoops, wrestling action figures, a remote-control motorcycle and other toys for her two boys and other family members.

The grand total: $500.

"I got a lot of stuff for $500," Steward said. "I think I did pretty good."

Steward, 28, doesn't usually shop on Black Friday - the busy post-Thanksgiving shopping day that retailers hope will put them in the black. This year was different. She needed to make her holiday budget stretch further, and she was willing to for go sleep, brave the traffic and fight the crowds to do it.

"Times are very hard," she said. "But I'll do this for them. I'll drive all over town from city to city."

Steward was like many consumers Friday who aimed to stretch smaller holiday budgets further. Shoppers lined up early, navigated packed parking lots and hunted down bargains at malls and stores throughout the region.

Retailers were glad to see the crowds.

"The mall is packed," said Stephanie Rice, marketing director for Greenbrier Mall in Chesapeake. "They're spending. We're seeing them carry a lot of bags."

It's been very steady, said Mike Dovel, general manager of the Best Buy on Greenbrier Parkway in Chesapeake. "We're hoping that this is a sign of things to come."

In light of the economic downturn, the National Retail Federation predicted that holiday spending would creep up just 1.9 percent this year. But a Consumer Reports poll predicted that 24 percent more people would hit stores on Black Friday this year than in 2007.

To help motivate shoppers, malls and stores slashed prices to record lows and offered extra promotions.

At Greenbrier Mall in Chesapeake, the first 250 shoppers received goodie bags worth at least $200 each. Other shoppers received "Treat Yourself" coupon books with exclusive discounts. MacArthur Center in Norfolk gave away 14 Nintendo Wiis - one every hour from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.

"They're pulling really a lot of traffic to the mall," Rice said. "We had a large early- bird crowd this year."

Monica Ogarekpe, a 41-year-old mother of three boys, started shopping at 6:30 a.m., hunting for a trampoline and other toys.

"I went to Wal-Mart first, which was a mistake," she said. "It was really, really,

really crazy."

Things went better at the Kmart on Constitution Drive in Virginia Beach, she said. There she found skateboards, action figures and a World Wrestling Entertainment bedspread.

"I'm spending less. I'm

really checking out the sales papers," said Ogarekpe, who recently retired from the Navy and is living on a fixed income. "I'm spending less because I'm shopping smarter."

Like many shoppers, she said she was paying cash.

"I don't want to go into the new year with a bunch of credit card debt," she said.

She also got her kids to pitch in.

"I've been telling my boys: Turn the lights out when you leave a room so we can get more stuff for Christmas," Ogarekpe said. "It's working. It's a pretty good motivator."

At the Best Buy on Greenbrier Parkway in Chesapeake, 800 to 1,000 people were lined up when the store opened at 5 a.m., said Dovel, the store's general manager. Computers, TVs, Blu -ray disc players and in-car navigation systems were the hottest items, he said.

Among those who went to Best Buy for big-ticket bargains were Katy Sommers and her husband. They saved about $500 on their Christmas gift to each other: a 42-inch, liquid crystal display television, she said.

Some shoppers came for smaller buys, such as games and movies.

Teresa Waeger picked up a few PlayStation 2 games for her husband and three teenagers, saving money by picking older titles. Her family plans to spend half as much as it did last year, about $1,000 total, she said.

She had hoped to buy her children a Wii, but it was just too expensive.

"It's called a recession Christmas," Waeger said. "We're making it paycheck to paycheck."

Despite saving throughout the year for Christmas gifts, she'll probably buy only for immediate family members, she said. She's focusing more on clothes and less on toys.

"Needs and not wants, that's what this Christmas is all about," Waeger said. "We've cut back on a lot of things."

The atmosphere was less bargain-driven and more relaxed at MacArthur Center, which caters to more high-end shoppers with stores like Nordstrom.

"It's a little lighter than last year," said Jim Wofford, the mall's general manager. "We were cautiously optimistic, but now we're pleasantly surprised that people are out shopping."

Johnna Young drove down from Newport News around 11 a.m. to buy a silver diamond bracelet for her mother, which was marked down more than 20 percent.

"That was the big draw," Young said.

She's cutting her holiday spending by about 35 percent this year, and focusing on one big gift per person, she said.

"We're really saying no to all the fringe things," she said.

For the Pyne family, who flew in from Buffalo, N.Y., to spend Thanksgiving with family in Suffolk, Black Friday was about spending the day together.

"I thought it'd be a fun thing to do, to come out with the family," said Andy Pyne as he stood in line with his mother and two daughters to take a photo with Santa Claus. And "maybe take advantage of some sales.... We're just having a great day."

Many early birds were ready to call it quits after several hours of bargain hunting.

"I'm going home after this," said Steward as she selected her last items at Toys R Us around 10 a.m. "I think I did pretty good.... We're having a pretty good Christmas, considering how things are."

Kathy Adams, (757) 446-2583, kathy.adams@pilotonline.com