COLONIE — In years past, Black Friday has been known to conjure apocalyptic images and videos from American shopping malls, with hordes of people stampeding, fighting and crying over slightly discounted video-game consoles and flat-screen TVs.

But that wasn't the case at the Capital Region's Colonie Center, where the atmosphere could have been described as orderly and festive, even downright cheerful. At 30 minutes past the shopping mall's 8 a.m. opening time, one may not have guessed Friday was the nation's premier holiday shopping day by looking at the center's half-empty parking lot.

The parking spots filled in as the morning wore on, and the mall expects the amount of foot traffic to be comparable with previous years, said Marissa McCarren, Colonie Center's marketing and business development manager.

"I think this is on par for what we’re expecting," McCarren said. "We’ve seen a lot of people out, dressed festively. We’ve seen lots of people shopping; there’s a ton of great deals, so I think we’re right on par."

Country music blared from the WGNA tent in the shopping mall's center court, blending with festive Christmas music toward each end of the complex. Families could be seen bustling with oversized shopping bags, some lugging carts to fit their purchases. One family of three wore matching shirts that said "Up all night to get lucky. #BlackFriday." Another seemed to be communicating via walkie talkie.

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After conquering the mall's top level, Lillian Crowningshield and Wanda Cross took a break in a pair of chairs near a first-floor fire place, poring over notebook papers where they had jotted down items they meant to buy.

Crowningshield said she spent the better part of this week crafting the list of Christmas gifts for her 26 children and grandchildren — but after a few hours at the mall, that preparation seemed to have been in vain.

"We shop 'til we drop," she said. "We've done a lot of shopping but we haven't bought much on our list."

Boscov's was a favorite store for Crowningshield, where she purchased discounted pots and pans. L.L. Bean was where she went for marked down clothes for the grandchildren.

Cross said she drove from Elizabethtown to Albany — the main reason for her visit being to catch up with old friends. But she came to Colonie Center Friday to find some gifts for her grandchildren as well.

"I've been trying to pull teeth to see what they want for Christmas, which is impossible," Cross said.

Stores throughout the mall brought out flashy signs to advertise their blowout sales. There were the $3 cozy socks at Christopher & Banks. Rue21 advertised holiday t-shirts, one featuring a mellow-looking gingerbread man with the caption, "Let's get baked," and another that said "Resting Grinch face." A sign in the mall's center advertised the "World's BEST gluten-free Caribbean rum cake."

Caroline and Vanessa Gosselin, a mother and daughter from Montreal, said their visit to the Colonie Center was part of a 10-year tradition of driving down to New York to shop for the holidays. Plus, they said, the shopping gives them an excuse to get out of their hotels.

"For us, we just come here as a family," Caroline Gosselin said. "We've been doing it for years. It's a little getaway."

The Gosselins plan on tackling the outlets tomorrow. But for them, Black Friday isn't just about shopping — it's an opportunity to spend quality time with each other."

Other area shopping centers also were busy. At the Crossings in Clifton Park, vehicles were lined up waiting to enter and exit the shopping center. On the other side of the Northway, several parking lots at Clifton Park Center were full, with shoppers cruising back and forth waiting for a spot to open up.

The situation was slightly more frenzied at Crossgates Mall in Guilderland, with lines of impatient drivers snaking through the complex’s parking lot Friday afternoon.



Inside the mall, it was noticeably more crowded than it had been at Colonie Center earlier in the morning. Lines of teenagers were flowing out of the Foot Locker on the first floor, and it was difficult to walk around without being in the way of a fast-walking shopper.



The Apple store was also its customary crowded.



But perhaps the most congestion was at Best Buy, where shoppers had to dodge dollies full of large, flat screen TVs and other electronics. With several lines snaking toward different cash registers, customer service counters and in-store pickup areas, it was difficult to tell where which line was going.

Back at Colonie Center, Tommy Rogers rested against a railing on the mall's second floor, with a bag packed to the brim with Pop! vinyl figurines. He bought 11 of the small toy action figures for his family.

Rogers shook his head when asked why he didn't just stay home and order the toys online.

"Every time I order something from online, it gets damaged," he said.

Looking across the sea of strolling shoppers, Rogers said the patrons of this year's Black Friday embody the Christmas spirit.

"People seem happy instead of all the fighting and complaining," he said.

Michael.Williams@timesunion.com or 518-454-5018.