SHOPPERS FILL THEIR SLEIGHS GIFT GIVERS GET EARLY START ON HOLIDAYS, FLOCK TO MALLS FOR SALES.

Byline: Patricia Farrell Aidem and Naush Boghossian Staff Writers

SANTA CLARITA - Two hours before the sun Friday, a line of shoppers stretched about 200 feet outside the Valencia Town Center, bargain hunters determined to get the best deals for the holidays.

With visions of Barbies, Easy Bake Ovens and Chicken Dance Elmo dancing in their heads, this group of mostly moms - with a smattering of dads and grandparents - waited for the 5 a.m. opening of Kay Bee toys, a three-year tradition for some, a lark for others.

The rewards for these die-hard shoppers included a balmy starlit official start of the holiday shopping season, a chance to shop without the kids, a few hours of chatting among newfound friends and bargains galore.

``I live in Minnesota and it's probably about 10 degrees there right now,'' said Marjorie Ericson, her sweat shirt tied around her waist as she waited in the dark. ``My daughter-in-law asked if I wanted to join her for the craziest shopping spree in the world. I wasn't going to miss out on that.''

The line began forming outside the Valencia Boulevard entrance at 3 a.m. Sheryl Caputo was first in line.

``Last year, I got here about 5 and I never got in. It was a two-hour wait because the line was so long,'' said Caputo, mother of a 6-, 4- and 3- year-olds.

Such early-bird sales the day after Thanksgiving provide values for customers - and publicity for retailers, said Jack Kyser, chief economist for the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp.

``The American economy is on a lot of people's minds,'' Kyser said. ``A lot of people are watching their expenditures, they're still spending money for gift giving, but they're watching their wallets.''

For a second year, Americans are ``cocooning,'' spending more time at home, and buying gifts to suit that lifestyle, Kyser said. Hot items are home entertainment centers, classic movies on DVD, video games and educational toys, said Charles Gill, general manager of the Town Center.

At the Best Buy store in Saugus, there was a line of 300 people by the time the store opened at 6 a.m. Store employees said more than 1,000 people had walked through their doors by 7:30 a.m.

Lloyd and Kristi Jensen stood in the line that snaked around to the back of the store, with a cart full of DVDs, Walkmen, boom boxes and Play Station games for their eight children. They had brought their daughter along so she could stand in line while they shopped.

Though the average wait to check out was about 30 minutes, the Jensens didn't mind because of the early-bird deals.

``This $60 boom box is $37.99 today and the DVDs are $14.99,'' said Lloyd Jensen.

Outside the Valencia mall before dawn Friday, Caputo struck up a quick friendship with another mother of three, Maria Lyman, who arrived five minutes earlier, but circled the mall when she found no one in line.

Joe Hauptman of Acton was on double duty. He agreed to shop for toys for his seven grandchildren with wife, Linda, if she would wait while he hit his favorite haunt, the tool department at Sears, which along with J.C. Penney opened its doors at 6 a.m.

``I don't know what I'll find, but I can't think of anything I'd rather do if I have to be at a mall,'' he said, laughing.

Across the way at Tilly's, a teen and youth clothing chain at the new Valencia Promenade, the line began forming about 5 for a 6 a.m. opening.

Seasonal helper Amy Pearson said when she arrived at 5:45 a.m., the 50 people in line were so anxious to get in that those in the front of line were shaking the locked door and banging on it.

Newhall's Yvette Gonzales started shopping at 6 a.m., and came to Tilly's to buy Christmas gifts for her teenage daughter.

``My daughter told us to come here,'' Gonzales said. ``Anything from this store is fine with her.''

While some took the long lines in stride, others were not as amused.

After standing in line for 25 minutes at Tilly's, Char Larkin's enthusiasm for those deals wore thin.

``They should have hired everybody today,'' Larkin said. ``It's a good sales tactic on their part though. When you're in line you see if there's anything else and it's a good opportunity to think of who you're forgetting.''

And shoppers weren't the only ones inconvenienced by the big crowds.

Best Buy employee Nicholas Patey just shook his head. He couldn't believe he had to drive around for a while trying to find a parking spot at 6 in the morning.

``This is nonsense,'' he said, laughing.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) A shopper lugs bags of gifts out out the Kay Bee Toy Store in the Valencia Town Center early Friday. Hundreds of shoppers waited in the dark for stores to open.

(2 -- color) Shoppers wait in a line wrapping around the Kay Bee Toy Store before its early opening Friday for the first chance to buy holiday gift items.

David R. Crane/Staff Photographer