We did our Thanksgiving on Wednesday this year so the first time ever we were rested on Friday and decided to go for it. We too were surprised to find that we were only a few out there at 6am. We chose to avoid the traffic surrounding the largest mall and go to a slightly smaller mall instead. We nearly had the place to ourselves. Crowds picked up substantially at 10. LOTS of stuff was 50% off.
An employee at Macy's said Black Friday morning is actually a good way to go now that stores open on Thanksgiving night. The madness hits that night, then the stores have all night to restock for the Black Friday early birds.
What I did NOT have was a plan -- so lots of time was wasted figuring out what I needed. I wasn't actually planning to buy anything, just experience it the chaos with a cup of coffee in hand because I thought the lines would be enormous. But nope. So it was a real wasted opportunity. Next year we'll do a Wednesday Thanksgiving again and have a PLAN in place for Friday.
The rest of my shopping I'll do online -- hoping to wrap up this weekend.
BIG TIP I got from Yankee Candle: The best deal they had was a coupon that was emailed to their mailing list to bring to the store (4 for price of 2). The in-store Black Friday deal was 3 for the price of 2. But the best best best deal they have is in JULY -- and then it is like half of that. So I'm putting that in my calendar for next year.