Rain falling on bags full of gifts, cars splashing through puddles in jammed parking lots - bargain hunters braved the gray skies and general dampness Friday to find things to stuff under their Christmas trees, or simply to take advantage of one of the best sales of the year.

It may have been a wet Black Friday, but area shoppers did not appear overly put off, gamely waiting in line to buy televisions, sweaters and toys.

The numerous parking lots surrounding the Westfield Meriden mall were mostly full, with cars shooting up and down aisles, looking for open spots.

Inside, people walked with packages tucked under their arms and bags dangling from their hands. Some were collapsed on benches, apparently exhausted from all the shopping.

Inside the Best Buy at 12:30 p.m., Greg Russo said he'd awoken at 3:50 a.m. to start his hunt for a new television, but had struck out at every store before eventually ending up in Meriden.

The sale items the West Hartford resident had seen advertised at most of the stores were sold out, he said, but he was hoping Best Buy might have something.

"Most of the prices are still really expensive," he said.

Tom Malloy of Meriden and his wife, Debbie, were in the audio aisle looking at speakers.

The couple had slept in, but had the day off and decided to get some shopping done, they said.

Debbie Malloy wanted to hear some Christmas music in her house this holiday season, she said, and now the decision was down to how big a speaker system the couple wanted in their living room.

It was too soon to be sure how retailers were faring in this year's tenuous economic environment.

On Wednesday, the National Retail Federation released survey results that showed up to 134 million people would be shopping Friday, today and Sunday. Last year, 128 million people said they planned to shop during this period.

The financial implications of Black Friday shopping for retailers is expected to come in over the next several days.

In Cheshire, sales were going relatively well at The Alphabet Garden children's book store, 132 Elm St., said owner Karlene Rearick.

The store is in the Watch Factory Shoppes, a plaza filled mostly with independently owned boutique stores.

In The Alphabet Garden, shoppers are looking for "a gift you can open again and again," Rearick said.

Some of her top sellers are the "39 Clues" series of books, in which a pair of orphans compete to find clues to win a fortune; "The Diary of a Wimpy Kid" series, which does indeed chronicle the adventures of a wimpy kid named Greg; and the "Fancy Nancy" series, which features a young girl with an oversize personality and a love of all things lavish.

"It's definitely a good year for books," Rearick said of the selection.

At the Target store at 600 Executive Blvd. in Southington, Joy Lynes said she was still going at 1:25 p.m. She'd been shopping since 7:30 a.m., looking for bargains at various stores, but was still interested in finding a centerpiece for her table for a holiday party.

Inside, people tried on sweaters and looked at the DVDs on sale.

In Wallingford earlier in the morning, rain was pouring down on the box of a 42-inch Emerson plasma television purchased by Wilfred Hernandez as cars whizzed around him in the parking lot.

Hernandez was trying to fit the box into the back seat of his car, and managed to do it after a few minutes of maneuvering.

Exiting the store with a cart full of purchases, Gerri Sabin of Wallingford said all the deals in the world weren't worth the hassle of braving the crowds.

"I hate Black Friday," she said. "… It's crazy."

aperlot@record-journal.com

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