Giving Tuesday: A Chance to Give Back During the Holiday Season

St. Louis-based Gateway to Peace Museum, Habitat for Humanity and the United Way of Greater St. Louis are among the nonprofits trying to encourage people to pause in their shopping and find a way to help others.

Will donating to charity ever be as popular as shopping during the holiday season? A partnership of nonprofits hopes so. For many people, the holiday shopping marathon began on Thanksgiving Day, with some national chains opening their doors just hours after the traditional turkey dinner. Then comes Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday, which has morphed into Cyber Week. Now, there's a new campaign asking you to open your wallet—Giving Tuesday. The Giving Tuesday website says the effort, coming on the heels of days devoted to consumerism, is designed "to create a national day of giving at the start of the annual holiday season. It celebrates and encourages charitable activities that support nonprofit organizations." …

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Black Friday: News and Updates

Find the latest on Black Friday lines, deals and news as it happens. If you see something we should know about, send us a tip at Maggie.Rotermund@patch.com or tweet @UniCityPatch.

It's the biggest shopping day of the year. Share your stories with Patch.

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Black Friday West County Wrap: Here's What's Open And When

If you plan to partake in the bounty of Black Friday sales, here's a breakdown of what stores are opening early for St. Louis sale seekers.

A number of stores and malls are beginning Black Friday sales earlier than ever before in the St. Louis area. Simply click on the links below for more details. Are you heading out to brave the crowds this Black Friday? If so, where are you shopping? What are you hoping to find? Tell us in the comments. If you know of a Black Friday sale we forgot to mention - please post it in the comments below!

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Sneak Peek at Walmart Black Friday Deals

The retail giant will be open all day in Manchester on Thanksgiving Day, then Black Friday sales begin at 8 p.m. Here's what you'll find, plus how the store plans to handle security.

Holiday shoppers get ready! The holiday shopping season is getting underway. (Read Previous Story: Walmart Holding Its Earliest Black Friday Ever) As previously reported by Patch, Walmart is beginning its Black Friday deals at its earliest time ever this year. St. Louis area stores will be open all day on Thursday and will begin running "Black Friday" sales at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day.  As the world’s largest retailer prepares for one of the most popular shopping days of the year, Patch got a sneak peak at some of the deals the store will offer shoppers, including the Manchester Highlands Walmart. (View some of the deals in the photo portion of this article). (For instant news updates follow Patch on Facebook and Twitter.) Walmart staff …

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68 West County Mall Stores to Open at Midnight on Black Friday

Check out the list of stores here. Other stores in the mall will open at 5 a.m.

(Sign up here for the FREE Patch Newsletter, including Breaking News Alerts.) More than 50 stores at West County Center will open at midnight on Black Friday, Nov. 23. The mall's other stores will open at 5 a.m., with times varying slightly for department stores. Here's a look at West County Center stores that will open at midnight on Black Friday. Temporary Tenants *List is subject to change. Contact stores for more information. Other department store opening times on Black Friday. jcpenney: 6 a.m. Nordstrom: 9 a.m. Information provided by CBL St. Louis Malls.

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'Black Friday Creep' Spurs Online Petition Drives to Save Thanksgiving

Thousands are signing an online petition protesting Target's plans to open at 9 p.m. on Thanksgiving to offer Black Friday sales.

The petition was reportedly created by a Target employee upset that the retail giant is opening on Thanksgiving and requiring employees to work instead of spending time with their families. (Sign up here for the FREE Patch Newsletter, including Breaking News Alerts.) Target stores, including the one in Town and Country, will open their doors at 9 p.m. on Thanksgiving. As of Tuesday morning, there are more than 179,000 signatures on the petition. (Check out the petition here.) Target is joining other retailers, inlcuding Walmart, that are opening on Thanksgiving to get a jump on Black Friday holiday shoppers. A press release from Change.org reported that they have seen dozens of new petitions pop up about Black Friday hours. "Following a …

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Black Friday Shopping in St. Louis to Start Earlier Than Ever in 2012

Walmart announced a Thanksgiving Day start to its sales. Target, Toys R Us, and Best Buy aren't far behind.

Serious shoppers know Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, is the day for bargains. (For instant updates follow Patch on Facebook and Twitter.) Retailers are opening earlier than ever this year with sales to entice holiday shoppers. Walmart has set the bar at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day for 2012 sales to start. Will other stores follow? Macy’s, Target and Toys R Us are among a growing number of shops kicking off Black Friday sales at midnight, the St. Louis Business Journal reports. Area mall doors will open at various times, though some of their stores may or may not be open then. Many sales haven't been announced yet. Target offers a signup to receive text messages of sales, and previews a 40-inch Toshiba TV, a Samsung laptop …

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Walmart Holding Its Earliest Black Friday Ever

The retail giant has said it will be open all day in Manchester on Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday sales will begin at 8 p.m.

For traditionalists, it may be an unwelcome encroachment on a holiday normally focused on family, but for shopping enthusiasts it's all in good fun.  (For instant news updates follow Patch on Facebook and Twitter.) Walmart has announced that it will begin running "Black Friday" sales at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day, the earliest time yet as the shopping holiday increasingly becomes "Black Thursday." Although the retail giant did hold sales on Thanksgiving Day last year, they started later in the evening. The 8 p.m. push will be one of three sales "events" for Walmart with others occurring at 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. the next day.  According to the St. Louis Business Journal, Walmart earns more than a quarter of its annual sales from the holiday …

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The Business Break-Down

Shoppers Spent More This Black Friday

Surveys are reporting the biggest sales increase for Black Friday since 2007.

Both Town and County boutiques and Manchester big box stores saw record—and well behaved—crowds during Black Friday 2011. “It was really busy the whole day,” said a clerk at Codi Jewelry in Town and Country Crossing. Though Codi didn’t advertise its sale, the store sent out special Black Friday alerts to customers who joined its email list. Managers at larger stores said they were pleased with the Black Friday turnout. “It went really smoothly, we had a crowd to the end of the building,” said a manager at Town and Country’s Target. “We had Door Buster items left over from the night, but they were gone by Saturday morning.” Kohl’s in Manchester prepared diligently for its first midnight opening. “We got a lot of complements on how well …

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