Extra Early Openings for Black Friday at the South Shore Plaza

The day after Thanksgiving this year – better known as Black Friday for marking the day many retailers see their numbers go from red to black – the will again see crowds of people from Braintree and surrounding areas line up for crazy deals and the start of the holiday shopping season.

Police traffic details at the Plaza will largely remain the same as well, with a few tweaks. The big changes will come in two ways – a special VIP program new to the mall this season and early openings planned for Black Friday.

The Plaza will open one hour earlier than last year, at 4 a.m. on Nov. 25, and a number of stores will kick-off their sales even sooner, at midnight between Thanksgiving and Black Friday, manager Judy Tullius told Planning Board members during their Nov. 7 meeting.

and Target – stores with their own outside access – will open at 12 a.m. And so will , Aeropostale P.S., , Lids Locker Room, , and , Tullius said. The Plaza will be open until 10 p.m. on Black Friday and through Dec. 12, when it will begin staying open until 11 p.m. A few days after that, the morning will also be extended, and the mall will open its doors at 8 a.m.

, in the former Circuit City building, is scheduled to open on Dec. 12, with a party the night before for invited guests, Tullius said. "They're moving very quickly [on construction]," she said.

Meanwhile, up now on the daily deal site LivingSocial is a program that Simon Malls has started this year called a "Black Friday VIP Shopping Experience for Two." Tullius explained the program to Planning Board members, and said that the VIP parking sections would be cordoned off and taken care of by the Plaza's parking company.

The deals go for $10 on LivingSocial and include in addition to the special parking, a VIP lounge for dropping off coats, hanging out and wrapping presents.

Across Braintree, at The Market Place on Grossman Drive, a representative told the board that they have had no complaints about the traffic setup in years past and will continue similarily, with a detail at Union Street and Grossman.