Whether you use Black Friday sales as an opportunity to purchase holiday gifts, or simply to spoil yourself a little, Black Friday has always been an exciting part of the Thanksgiving holiday. But knowing what stores to hit to get the best deals can be difficult. This guide serves as the holy grail of everything Black Friday. It’s your go-to for finding deals that are a little less pronounced and advertised both in-store and online:

This year, many stores are opening earlier on Thanksgiving night. A good way to work off the feast is by out-running all the other shoppers waiting in line to take everything off the shelves. If you are competitive and like the rush of waiting in line for a few hours at around midnight until stores open, then in-store Black Friday shopping is definitely your calling.

• Best Buy is famous for its Midnight Mystery Doorbusters. The sales are not advertised until 10 p.m. on Thanksgiving night. The amount of time wasted by waiting in a gigantic line is usually all worth it. If a good deal on electronics is on your list, you cannot pass up Best Buy. Just be ready to put up a good fight.

• This year, the beloved Target is opening the doors at midnight and will stay open for 23 hours. Target is known for long lines and good deals on everything in the store. More details on sale prices can be found online and in newspaper ads, but one thing is for sure: almost all T.V.’s are at least $100 off.

• Friendship Heights is not an expensive place to shop on Thanksgiving and will probably be slightly less crowded. Plenty of stores in the area are offering huge markdowns for this holiday tradition. Loehmann’s, a store with designer clothes at discounted prices, is handing out $20 off coupons for the first 400 costumers at 6 a.m. on Friday. There are even more discounts on merchandise in the store on top of the coupon. All shoes are 50 percent off and, to prepare for the chilly winter ahead, sweaters are 25 percent off as well. The recently added H&M is having huge sales all week long. Merchandise is up to 70 percent off storewide.

• Last, but certainly not least, is Montgomery Mall. The mall is probably one of the most chaotic places to go for Black Friday, but if you enjoy being a part of that rush, then you won’t leave empty handed. Nordstrom’s, Macy’s and Sears are the department stores with the best deals. The entire mall opens at midnight on Friday, but many stores like Forever 21, Sears, Macy’s, Lush and Pac Sun are opening at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving night. Department stores are, of course, offering the usual sales with tremendous savings for the holidays. Forever 21 is continuing its legendary yellow tag deals with selected items starting as low as $3. Montgomery Mall is also offering the first 500 shoppers who stop by Westfield Concierge an exclusive swag bag filled with goodies including gift cards from select retailers. One lucky swag bag will include a $500 Westfield Gift Card.

If the Black Friday rush is not your thing, but you still want to save major bucks, online shopping is the way to go. This year, the Black Friday sales online started as early as last week, giving you a head start before items get sold out. Many stores have daily savings and free shipping. Almost every store is having big discounts on selected items online. Everything from tablets to kid’s toys is on sale. eBay is also participating in this shopping frenzy. Starting on the 27th, eBay has major deals on selected items and everything is free shipping.

Looks like I’ll be headed to the mall this Friday. But regardless of how you spend your Black Friday, make sure you spend wisely.