Crowds of Windsorites lined up at stores across the city early Friday morning as retailers in the area tried to keep Black Friday shoppers from spending their money in the U.S.

Toys R Us had a line of about 100 people just before the store opened Friday at 7 a.m.

"I was in line this morning at 6:30 and I did get what I wanted," said Eileen Dobson. "It's half price so it's $20 instead of $40 so it's worth it."

One shopper didn't want to be identified because he called in sick at work to take part in Black Friday shopping.

Others didn't go to such extremes, but did opt to shop when they would normally be working.

"I actually switched my shift at work so I can come in early and make sure I get [a gift] for my son because it's something he really wanted," said Sandra Hamel. "I'd come back again."

Devonshire Mall also had lines forming as the shopping centre prepared to open at 8 a.m.

"I think it's kind of unnecessary because we don't really do big deals,"said Greg Grohs, who works at Lids Locker Room at Devonshire Mall. "I mean our store doesn't really have anything special going on. Just another day for us."

This is the first time Devonshire Mall opened at 8 a.m. on Black Friday.

"There's been a Canadian demand for our retailers to offer something similar to the American Black Friday," said Chris Savard, general manager at Devonshire Mall.

"The print material we're handing out today is even a little bit stale because there are more deals to be had that originally thought," he said.

But these lines are small in comparison to the Black Friday crowds in the U.S.

Many shoppers in Windsor say it's worth the wait to line up early in the morning to find deals and cross off some items on their shopping list.

"It's awesome. I've been at Canadian Tire and Wal-Mart," said Cathy James. "I've been up since 6 a.m. It's an awesome day."

Other shoppers said they would prefer to shop in the U.S. and get better deals, but that's simply not an option.

"My mom won't bring me because she's scared and doesn't want to get beat up," said Ashtyn Valley.