Many people skipped the turkey and hit shopping malls in search of great deals

LOS ANGELES - Many people skipped the turkey and pumpkin pie and spent Thanksgiving shopping to take advantage of early Black Friday door-buster deals.

The Citadel Outlets in Commerce is open 27 hours straight, from 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving to 11 p.m. on Black Friday. It’s part of the annual Moonlight Madness where 130 stores offer 30-70% off. Many shoppers came from around the world for their first Thanksgiving.

“For me, it’s totally crazy because I’m from France and the price is so low compared to France,” said Kevin Foughali.

“We go back to England tomorrow in the freezing cold so we’re just thought we’d get some good deals here and then head home,” said Jem Cutter.

It definitely felt like Christmas on Thanksgiving night, especially with fake snow shows coming from the World’s Tallest Live-Cut Christmas Tree at the center of the Citadel Outlets. It stands 115 feet with 18,000 twinkling lights. Shoppers can take pictures and donate new, unwrapped toys to charity.

People waited in line for doors to open for hours, and it was a similar scene at Best Buy in Burbank.

Ben Hovsepian was first in line at 7 a.m. He’s never experienced Black Friday before and was after a couple of 70-inch TVs.

“If I buy two I’m saving about $700 so it’s not bad,” said Hovsepian.

When the clock struck 5 p.m., they were off, armed with shopping carts, on a mission to save hundreds of dollars off flatscreens, laptops and iPads. Thanksgiving at the store, but happy shoppers nonetheless.

In an effort to show how thankful they are for their employees, the Citadel Outlets has an employee lounge open on Thanksgiving and Black Friday with free massages, warm food and drinks, and a 15-foot movie screen, constantly playing Holiday favorites.

Shoppers also have access to a separate, VIP lounge for $30 to rest and rejuvenate during the hectic shopping season.