Malls Open at 12:30 a.m. on Black Friday

Holiday shoppers can hit up the Northshore Mall or the Liberty Tree Mall down the road for killer deals starting at 12:30 a.m. on Black Friday.

The stores inside the malls may not all be open at that time, but night-owl shoppers can hit up some of the larger department stores and certain other shops starting right after midnight. Guest services staff will also hand out gift bags to the first 100 shoppers.

JC Penney, Macy's and Nordstrom at the Northshore Mall say they're opening right at midnight, while Sears opens at 12:30 a.m. Toys R Us then opens at 1 a.m. and Barnes & Noble at 8 a.m.

At the Liberty Tree Mall, nearly all the major retailers plan to open at midnight -- Best Buy, Target, Marshalls, Old Navy, Nordstrom Rack, Dick's Sporting Goods, Sports Authority, Home Depot and Michael's. Kohl's, however, plans to open at 1 a.m. Across the street, Bed Bath & Beyond opens at 6 a.m.

Down the road on Route 114, Walmart opens up at 1 a.m. and won't close the doors again until midnight. Babies R Us opens at 5 a.m. and Burlington Coat Factory follows suit at 6 a.m. PetSmart also opens early at 7 a.m. while PETCO follows regular hours.

The malls will stay open until 10 p.m. to give shoppers plenty of time to scour holiday sales and promotions, and there will also be a number of other activities and offers from Simon Malls, including holiday entertainment throughout the day, gift wrapping, gift cards, photos with Santa, and a shopper shuttle at the Northshore Mall.

The complimentary shuttle will run from the entrance to P.F. Chang's on Fridays through Sundays, starting Black Friday and ending Dec. 22.

The Liberty Tree Mall will also offer a MetroPCS Recharge Lounge during the holiday season for shoppers to charge their electronic devices and take advantage of the free WiFi.

The entertainment lineup features local carolers, choral groups and other merry-makers, including the Northshoremen, the Gloucester High School Docksiders, the Northeast Youth Ballet (performing the Nutcracker) and others.

The Peabody firefighters' union will also set up across from the food court from 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. to collect donations for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

As for gift wrapping, volunteers for local charities will wrap items for shoppers from Dec. 2 through Dec. 24 with 100 percent of the proceeds going back to those charities.