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Meanwhile, his friend doesn’t approve of shopping on Thanksgiving. “He’s upset with myself right now. He feels offended and is like don’t even come by.”

Bernard agrees but thinks it’s OK to shop if you really need something.

Fortunately he says, his parents and immediate family are celebrating Thanksgiving on the 30th because several people had to work today.

“It’s not like I lost something, I’ll be celebrating.”

Kmart opens for 41 hours straight

A Kmart store in the Manhattan borough of New York City was packed with people shopping for clothing and holiday decor items. The discounter, whose parent is Sears Holdings Corp., opened at 6 a.m. and planned to stay open for 41 hours straight. Clothing was marked down from 30% to 50%.

Adriana Tavaraz, 51, from the Bronx, who had just finished work at a travel agency at around 4 p.m., spent $105 on ornaments, Santa hats and other holiday decor for herself and her family at Kmart. She saved about 50%. But Tavarez said her holiday budget was tight because she was grappling with higher costs like food and monthly rent, which rose $100 to $1,700 this year.

“I struggle a lot,” said Tavaraz, who started saving for holiday presents in June and planned to spend a total of $200 for holiday presents. “Nowadays, you have to think about what you spend. You have to think about tomorrow.”

As for celebrating Thanksgiving, she planned to have her family over for dinner at 8 p.m.

“Everything is ready,” she said.