LEWISBORO, N.Y. – If you’re heading out on Black Friday to brave the throngs of shoppers hoping to get the best deals as the holiday shopping season officially kicks off, you won’t find the Hall family from Goldens Bridge jostling among the maddening crowds.

“We don’t buy into it,” said Jim Hall, who was having a pizza lunch with his wife, Amy, and his two children, Brandon, 3, and Ella, 1, at La Famiglia in Orchard Square at Cross River on Sunday afternoon. “We avoid the mall and buy online.”

Amy Hall said that she already got a head start on her Christmas shopping list by buying a few items at Toys R Us during the retailer’s pre-Black Friday sale when things were a little calmer.

The Halls just moved to Goldens Bridge from New York City. Noting that the Lewisboro township is somewhat devoid of major retailing outlets, they said that when they do venture out for a shopping expedition, it is usually to the Danbury Fair Mall in Danbury, Conn., or the Westchester Mall in White Plains – except on Black Friday, when you won’t find them anywhere near the places.

Suzanne Ward of Cross River will be avoiding the long lines and stressed-out store clerks on Black Friday as well.

“I don’t care how big the sale is. I don’t like the crowds and I don’t like to stand in line and be pushed around,” Ward said. “I don’t shop on Black Friday – it just doesn’t appeal to me.”

Ward, who actually began her Christmas shopping in October, was at Orchard Square spending the afternoon with her friend, Trisha Hutchinson, who was visiting from Chicago. Hutchinson said Black Friday has little significance for her because she’s a last-minute shopper. “I wait until the last week and then just go,” she said.

Hutchinson said he believes she gets deals just as good as Black Friday shoppers because as Christmas gets closer, retailers lower prices in a desperate attempt to dump merchandise.

While adults may cringe at the thought of battling Black Friday crowds, teenagers seemed to have no qualms, as long as they could get a good deal out of it.

“I’m so broke that all those sales intrigue me,” said Kristine Marie Mitchell, a freshman at John Jay High School. “I don’t like to spend a lot of my money so I try to be frugal, although I don’t mind spending my mom’s money.”

Mitchell’s friend, Melanie Hodor, echoed her friend’s sentiments. “I’m OK with the crowds; I can wade through them,” she said. “But I don’t really like the long lines.”

Mitchell said she will attempt to avoid the long lines by being one of the first ones there. “I love everything about Black Friday. I’m overwhelmed, but one I’m there, I’m OK,” she said. “I try to get there at the crack of dawn.”

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