JCPenney and Best Buy continue to attract early morning shoppers to Black Friday fun in Spokane.

The line wrapped around JCPenney before 5 a.m. Friday in a ritual reminiscent of Black Fridays of yesteryear.

“The prices are so good, you know,” Peggy Rieben said.

A line of at least 20 people wrapped around the corner of the JCPenney Spokane Valley shopping center. The store’s tradition of advertising the opportunity to receive various discounts and prizes throughout the day has become a big draw for the most avid shoppers.

JCPenney offers this year included the chance to receive a mystery coupon worth at least $500 for early customers and a chance to win diamond earrings later in the afternoon.

Rieben said she has been shopping on Black Friday for the past 10 years, usually making the first stop at JCPenney in Spokane Valley because of the many different deals.

Just a few minutes after she walked in, she already had a pair of dress shirts and Adidas sweatpants for her husband. However, her main shopping item was a smokeless grill.

“If you have something specific in mind, you can’t go wrong,” Rieben said.

Even though Black Friday isn’t what it used to be, she said there are still deals to start early.

Paige Gonzalez joined her mom Kim for the Black Friday fun after returning home for the holidays to see what it was all about.

“I was actually the one who told my mom about it. I thought, “Can we go shopping?” said Paige, a student at Grand Canyon University. “This is my first Black Friday.”

For Kim, it was a simple yes.

Kim said she has spent the last 10 years shopping on Black Friday and even going to stores on Thanksgiving in hopes of finding the best deals. JCPenney continues to be one of the first stores she visits.

“We saw the line and decided to wait in the car until they opened,” Kim said. “We did manage to get one of the $10 mystery coupons at the door and a tiny snow globe.”

Paige said that growing up, she remembers her mom and family members being gone for hours at a time.

Although they said they weren’t looking for anything in particular, Paige said she was hoping to check out Christmas shopping for her brother and father. They were going to Best Buy next.

“I just thought it would be fun and it would be mother-daughter day,” Paige said.

Others saw it as a day of fun after the era of Black Friday madness.

A small line formed just minutes before Best Buy opened its doors, where cousins ​​Joe Carlino and Bryce Stockton stood waiting for them to open.

Carlino said this is their first stop in four years – and this year was no exception.

“We’re just continuing the tradition,” Stockton said.

Stockton said they spend the night at their grandparents’ house every Thanksgiving, which he thinks is where the idea of ​​going Black Friday shopping came from.

Carlino said he doesn’t remember who came up with the idea either, but believes it was around the time Stockton got his driver’s license.

“Our best buy by far is the Xbox,” Stockton said as Carlino nodded in agreement. “We did make a few deals, though.”