LiveBlog

Just as the turkey, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie feasts begin to settle, some stores will open their doors on Thanksgiving, marking the start of the 2015 holiday shopping season.

Here’s a look at when some of the country’s biggest retailers are opening their doors — along with some of the best deals they have to offer. (Note that the times listed are for most locations. Be sure to check your local store’s hours.)

Read more: Black Friday guide to store hours and the best deals 

AP Photo 

Friday, 1 p.m.: Weed Friday

Colorado has a new Black Friday tradition: Marijuana shops drawing shoppers with discounted weed and holiday gift sets.

At Denver Kush Club in Denver, about two dozen customers were lined up in subfreezing temperatures and snow showers to take advantage of the shop’s doorbuster deals.

The first few customers got free joints, free rolling papers and a T-shirt with purchase. All medical customers were offered ounces of marijuana for $99 — a savings of about 50 percent.

The shop blasted reggae music and welcomed the crowd with Green Friday welcome cheers. Similar deals were offered last year, the first in which retail recreational marijuana sales opened.

“We get a lot of people in the first few hours, just like any store on Black Friday,” said co-owner Joaquin Ortega. He said marijuana gift-giving is becoming more common, though most were shopping for themselves Friday.

—Kristen Wyatt, Denver

PROTESTS ON CHICAGO’S MAGNIFICENT MILE

Hundreds of protesters blocked entrances to stores in Chicago’s high-end shopping district to draw attention to the police shooting of a black teenager.

The demonstration came after the release of a video this week showing the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald last year. The video touched off largely peaceful protests.

On Friday, some of the demonstrators in Chicago linked arms to form human chains in front of main entrances to stores.

Store employees directed shoppers to exit from side doors. When one person tried to get through the front door of Saks Fifth Avenue, protesters screamed at him, shouting, “Shut it down! Shut it down.”

Entrances were also blocked at the Disney Store, the Apple Store, Nike, Tiffany & Co., and Neiman Marcus.

Many shoppers seemed to take the disturbance in stride, and some even snapped photos of the crowd.

Protesters took different approaches. The Rev. Jesse Jackson, for instance, led a prayer with a group from the steps of Chicago’s historic Water Tower.

NO MAD RUSH

Business was brisk but not overwhelming at a Macy’s in Kansas City as rain that started Thursday morning continued falling. There didn’t appear to be any lines more than a few customers deep.

Gerri Spencer and her daughter left home at 4 a.m. and made their way to a Macy’s store several hours later. Spencer said the crowds seemed sparser than in the past when Black Friday meant “getting out at the crack of dawn” to get the best deals.

Some Black Friday shoppers seemed to miss the holiday crowds.

At a Kmart in Denver, Susan Montoya had nearly the entire store to herself. She half-heartedly flipped through a rack of girls’ holiday party dresses and looked down the store’s empty aisles.

“There’s no one out here! No challenge!” she said.

Lynette Norcup also is nostalgic for Black Fridays of the past.

Sitting in the warmth of her daughter’s SUV waiting for Wal-Mart to open, the resident of Pleasanton, California said she thinks the excitement has fizzled with stores opening on Thanksgiving.

Norcup misses the challenge of strategizing to score deals.