Photo

Stoneridge Shopping Center gave shoppers an early start on their holiday buying today by opening the mall at 12 midnight as the clock turned to the festive, frenzied 'Black Friday."

The Friday after Thanksgiving is traditionally viewed as the start of the holiday shopping season, although retailers throughout the area, including stores at Stoneridge, have been promoting holiday shopping for weeks.

"In response to feedback from our shoppers, we have decided to open our doors at midnight to accommodate eager shoppers who want to get an early start on their holiday purchases," said Carrie Williams, director of Marketing & Business Development at Stoneridge.

Other Black Friday activities at Stoneridge include:

• Totes & Tees: Starting at midnight, the first 200 shoppers to Simon Guest Services were given Stoneridge branded tote bags and t-shirts.

• Unwrap the Package Prize Giveaway: Enter for the chance to win one of 10 prize packages to be given away at 6 a.m. Entries will be collected at Simon Guest Services from midnight to 5:59 a.m. At 6 a.m., 10 winners will be drawn. Those 10 winners will then have the chance to open one of 10 wrapped packages to see what they've won. Packages will contain American Express Simon Giftcards ranging from $50 to $500. Entrants must be present to win.

• Early Bird Gets the Giftcard Gift with Purchase: Customers who spend $200 or more anywhere at Stoneridge between midnight and 6 a.m. will get a $10 American Express Simon Giftcard if they show their original receipts, photo ID and provide an e-mail address at Simon Guest Services. It's a one-time per shopper promotion.

• Entertainment: A Dickens-era holiday brass group will kick off the shopping season for all early risers. Later in the day, the Dix Bruce Jazz Trio will entertain with holiday classics.

• Black Friday shoppers will be able to document their exciting day of shopping with a Stoneridge-branded flipbook made just for them in the Grand Court.

• Keurig will be onsite in Grand Court demonstrating their coffee makers and offering free samples to shoppers. Sampling will continue every Saturday and Sunday throughout the holiday season.

Five major department stores are located in the Stoneridge Shopping Center—Nordstrom, Macy's Women's, Macy's Men's Children's & Home, JCPenney, Sears—as well as 165 specialty stores and restaurants that include the Cheesecake Factory and P.F. Chang's.

The center is owned and operated by Simon Property Group, Inc., which currently owns or has an interest in 333 retail real estate properties in North America and Asia comprising 242 million square feet. Simon Property is headquartered in Indianapolis and employs 5,500 people in the U.S. For more information, visit the Simon Property Group website at www.simon.com.

Are you receiving Express, our free daily e-mail edition? See a sample and sign-up for Express.