At 6 a.m. Friday, South Iowa Street stores were as full of customers as they are many days at 6 p.m.

Welcome to Christmas shopping season.

Hundreds of shoppers converged early Friday morning to take advantage of “early bird” sales on the first official day of the holiday shopping season. Stores began opening as early as 5 a.m.

“You have to hit the stores early to buy more; it’s a tradition,” said Norma Douglas, shopping with her friend Debbie Henning at Kmart. By 5:40 a.m., their cart was overflowing with toys; Douglas was toting an industrial-sized travel mug of coffee.

“And Wal-Mart’s next,” Henning said.

“And Target,” Douglas said. “And Kohl’s.”

“And Penney’s,” Henning said. “If we have enough energy.”

It wasn’t just bargain hunters who got up early. Some shoppers simply enjoy the thrill of the season.

“We’re here more for the experience,” Heather Sharp said at 6:05 a.m. in Kohl’s Department Store. “I’ve not done this before. I don’t even have a list.”

Her friend, Cheryl Turner, agreed.

“I’m just out for the fun,” she said.

But it was serious business for many shoppers. Within minutes of Wal-Mart’s 6 a.m. opening, the store’s toy section was so clogged with shoppers, it was impossible to walk more than a foot or two at a time. An employee directed traffic around the checkout lanes.

With four stores behind them and two more to go, two families from Baldwin leave Wal-Mart with a cart full of holiday gifts and supplies. From left are Alexis Devers, 6, and her mother, Marcia, holding her sister Jacie, 1, Dawson Skiles, 3, and his mother, Cathy. The group of shoppers started the day in Ottawa and planned to finish in Lawrence at Kohl's and Old Navy.

At Target, a crowd of roughly 75 people huddled outside the store for its 7 a.m. opening, with far more people waiting in their cars.

“You get a good buy and save money,” Jeannie Eye of Baldwin said while she waited. “I live for this every year.”

Downtown stores opened more or less at their regular times Friday, but soon they also were hopping with business.

“It’s been great,” said Joe Flannery, president of Weaver’s Department Store. “It started off busy, and it’s just getting busier. This is a fun time of year, for shoppers and people in the Christmas spirit.”

While national experts were predicting a relatively slow shopping season, several Lawrence retailers said they expected to do as well or better than last year.

That’s good news, because Christmas usually determines a store’s fiscal health for the year.

“Just like anybody else, the fourth quarter is where the bulk of our sales happen,” said Brett Schubert, store manager at SuperTarget. “It’s very critical.”

Janene Williams was less concerned with the economy than with furnishing her apartment as she cruised the aisles of Wal-Mart’s electronics section about 6:20 a.m. The sales were too good to pass up, she said.

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“It’s a good deal,” she said. “It’s worth getting up early.”