Some people sit out the bargains altogether

Instead of hitting stores at 1 a.m. yesterday, Lynne Friley slept in and had a big breakfast with her son, Nickolas. (Mark Wilson/Globe Staff)

LYNN - Call it the Black Friday Boycott.

They are the maxed-out, the debt-ridden, the recently unemployed.

And yesterday, they turned their backs on the annual tradition of lining up at stores for doorbuster deals in the wee hours after Thanksgiving. Instead, they slept late, watched movies, and played with the Wii they bought last year on Black Friday - anything to avoid spending money.

Facing waves of layoffs, mounting credit card bills, and rapidly shrinking nest eggs, anxious consumers who have worked for years to perfect the sport of bargain-hunting on Black Friday yesterday shunned the tempting deals at malls and shopping centers across Massachusetts.

"It devastates me," said Lynne Friley of Lynn, 38, who lost her job at an ambulance service this summer, fell behind on bills, and took a pay cut - about $300 less a month - at her new job as a bill collector in a lawyer's office. "This is a tradition I have been doing for as long as I can remember. But the economy has hit me very hard."

Over the years, merchants have heavily marketed the day after Thanksgiving as the kickoff to the holiday shopping season. Generations of families and groups of friends have made a tradition of Black Friday, waking up at the crack of dawn - or staying up all night - to hunt for bargains together. Merchants often have a limited selection of the best deals, and many retail analysts say the promotions are just as good, if not better, as it gets closer to Christmas. Still, the hype around the day has traditionally drawn shoppers near and far.

Karen McNamara of Limerick, Ireland, spent about $7,500 on a diamond ring, digital camera, Tommy Hilfiger clothes, and other gifts during last year's midnight excursion to Wrentham Village Premium Outlets. But this year, "We had to give it a rest," McNamara said yesterday in a phone interview from Limerick, adding that 19 of her friends had also canceled their annual shopping tour in Boston. "Money is tight. We're in a bit of a recession and just can't afford it."

Last year, Wrentham outlets had more than 1,000 international visitors who came in organized trips. This year, the shopping center said it did not have details on the number of expected foreign shoppers.

But Michele Rothstein, a spokeswoman for Chelsea Property Group, which runs the Wrentham outlets, said: "The dollar has weakened so we may not see that extreme buying frenzy."

For at least a dozen years, Friley organized an annual Black Friday outing with three friends. It would begin with a conference call on Thanksgiving night when she and her buddies would study fliers for the best deals. Then they would leave the house at midnight, fuel up with coffee at Dunkin' Donuts, and split up in two cars with a shopping list, map, and plenty of excitement.

This year, the group put the tradition on hold. One friend has a 3-month-old baby and her boyfriend got laid off last week. Another friend lost too much money in the stock market.

Since losing her job processing insurance payments at an ambulance company in July, Friley has canceled her cable and her cellphone and took on the lower-paying job. After spending $800 last holiday season, Friley is slashing her budget to $200. That meant avoiding the malls yesterday.

Instead of lining up outside at 1 a.m., Friley slept in and woke up around 6:30 a.m. to make scrambled eggs, bacon, and hash browns for her 8-year-old son, Nickolas. They watched the "Transformers" movie, and he played "Super Mario Galaxy" with the Wii that Friley bought last year on Black Friday. And she baby-sat the son of a friend - the only one from her group who checked out the sales yesterday.

So far, the only gift Friley has purchased is a $40 used PlayStation 2. She's putting it in a big box. The rest of the gifts will come off the clearance shelves and from shops like Five Below, which sells toys priced between $1 and $5.

"I'm so sad," Friley said as she stood over the sizzling bacon inside her kitchen yesterday morning. "I refused to look at the fliers. It hurt too much."

Tommy Guerin, 47, of Quincy, had a similarly quiet Black Friday: He slept in and watched college football for the first time in at least five years. Usually, he is waiting on line by 5 a.m. at the Best Buy in Braintree and then heading to Wal-Mart in Weymouth. Last year, he spent almost $1,500 and finished most of his holiday shopping on Black Friday, buying iPods, DVD players, clothes, and gift cards.

But this year, with bills piling up, Guerin has kicked off half the people from his Christmas gift list and plans to only spend about $500.

He added, with just a hint of bitterness, "I looked at the Black Friday fliers for Best Buy and nothing blew me away."

Meanwhile, it was at the Best Buy in Saugus where Mara Gaselva spent her 39th birthday waiting for the store to open. Usually, she has 15 friends with her, but almost everyone stayed home. Many lost jobs, she said, and others are worried they will get laid off soon. Gaselva spent about $1,500 on laptops and digital cameras - about half as much as last year - and instead of hitting Sears, Macy's, and Wal-Mart like last year for more shopping, Gaselva planned to head home.

"I'm spending much less and trying to save," Gaselva said. "I'm just so nervous about the economy. You don't know what's going to happen."

Jenn Abelson can be reached at abelson@globe.com.