No sooner is the Halloween candy eaten then the planning and the retail onslaught has already begun for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

While it may seem that Thanksgiving is somewhat overshadowed by the lure of Santa Claus and all his magical reindeer taking flight on Christmas Eve to visit all the good little boys and girls, in my family Thanksgiving brings more than just a big turkey dinner and giving thanks for the blessings in our lives — it means shopping.

For nearly 30 years now, my mother and aunt have been among the "early bird" shoppers on the day after Thanksgiving. Although my aunt lives in Canada, she and her husband and sometimes some of my other Canadian relatives always come down to celebrate the American holiday, gather around the table for plenty of laughs and then after dessert it's down to business.

There is a method to the madness — or a formula of sorts — they have created that has not only stood the test of patience, but has also allowed many successful outcomes for some of the hottest gifts of the holiday over the years.

From Cabbage Patch dolls to Nintendo game systems, Furbies and Tickle Me Elmo, they have managed to elbow their way through the crowds to score loot for not only their children but often times for their nieces and nephews, if given the chance.

After the meal is over and we're all stuffed and either snoozing on the couch or watching the NFL games on TV, the talk shifts to who needs to buy what.

After most of the dishes are cleaned, we have our pie for dessert and then it's down to business. All the store flyers are spread out in piles on the kitchen table and, one by one, each of us looks through the pages and writes down the prices of the particular things we're each looking to buy.

When the best prices are found and all the store opening times are reviewed, the map of where to start the morning is set and the list of who is going where and buying what and for whom is created.

There is no question or room for error — you get in the store, grab the items, get to the register and get out as quickly as you can in order to move on to the next store. If there are no early sale items we will go back to the store later in the weekend, but there is no time to look at clothes, try on jackets or ponder which gift to buy for the Yankee swap party taking place in two weeks.

Bedtime on Thanksgiving evening is no later than 8 p.m. and that is only after you've had a shower since there is not time for hot showers in the morning and primping in the mirror with hair and makeup. Lights are out, televisions are off and all that is left is to go over the shopping route in your head.

In essentially the middle of the night, we're up and dressed and out the door in plenty of time to score the good parking lot at the mall. Each year one of the first stores we usually hit is J.C. Penney, since they hand out a free Christmas ornament that features the date. I couldn't tell you how many of these holiday ornaments I still hang on my tree each year. It's funny to look at these and think back on Black Friday shopping excursions of the past.

Last year at this time I was in the middle of a painful divorce and feeling very low and near rock bottom mentally and exhausted physically. I went home for Thanksgiving, which also coincided with the death of my grandmother, and just wanted to be in the arms of family. Being around the dinner table and looking through the flyers in a weird sort of way made me feel at home, where happy times prevailed.

Since moving away from my home in Maine more than 10 years ago, I hadn't been able to join my mom and family on this holiday shopping trek for a number of years, but I'll be there again this year — hunting down a Zhu Zhu Pet for my son.

As much as it is about shopping, it's more about tradition. Spending time with your family during the holidays, whether it's getting up at 3 a.m. to go shopping or just enjoying time around the dinner table catching up with loved ones, creating your own traditions are special and something that will stay with you — and hopefully for generations to come.

So Happy Thanksgiving... and happy shopping!

Krista Marrs is the features editor for The Citizen. She can be reached at kmarrs@citizen.com.