ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — Black Friday crowds filled Tanger Outlets Asheville in the early-morning cold on Nov. 29, as shoppers searched for holiday deals and in many cases, a little time together.

“It is Black Friday shopping. It is the biggest shopping day of the year,” Megan Thorp, Marketing Director for Tanger Asheville, told News 13. “It’s kind of the Super Bowl for all of our retailers.”

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Thorp said retailers prepared for weeks ahead of the holiday weekend, expecting thousands to browse for bargains following Thanksgiving.

“People are out of their turkey comas, and they’re going to burn off all that energy they ingested yesterday,” she said. “Shoppers are walking around…they’re smiling. They’re using it as a way to be together and celebrate time together and then also score the biggest deals.”

Some families made an early start. Natalie, a 10-year-old visiting the outlets with relatives, said she had been shopping “since 4 a.m.”

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“You get to buy things and get Christmas gifts with your family,” she said.

Many shoppers say the day felt calmer and more enjoyable than years past, with fewer crowds pushing for limited deals and more people focused on experiences.

That was the case for the Coy family from Hendersonville, who said they weren’t even sure they would shop this weekend, until tradition brought them out of the door.

“We have this tradition where every Christmas we buy matching shirts,” said shopper Valerie Coy, joined by her husband and son. “We have two other sons too, so all five of us get a Christmas shirt.”

Coy said the tradition started as a joke and stuck.

“You see the shirts over the year. They wear them all year,” she said, laughing. “It’s like, ‘Oh, you’re wearing Christmas shirts from two years ago.’”

One of her sons recently moved back to North Carolina, making this holiday especially meaningful.

“It is the one time of year we’re all together,” Coy said. “It’s not so much about the shirt, but about what it symbolizes. Family is the most important thing at the holidays. It’s not about the gifts or about politics. It’s just about spending time together and being a family.”

Thorp said shoppers can also visit Santa at the outlets this season. More information is available at Tanger.com/Asheville.