It was easy to tell that Peggy Yuhas and three of her four daughters took day-after-Thanksgiving shopping seriously.

Joining thousands of Helenans in the annual pre-dawn rush to the region’s biggest retailers to kick off the holiday shopping season, Yuhas and daughters Lori Keck, Lesli Amundson and Andrea Amundson went so far as to print special T-shirts for the occasion.

By 9 a.m., the quartet, all decked out in white shirts with “Black Friday” emblazoned on the front, were at their fourth store of the morning, wheeling a jam-packed shopping cart through a rush of customers at Target.

“We started at Wal-Mart, then went to Kmart, then Shopko, then here,” Lori Keck said.

“And we’re headed to Macy’s, Dillard’s and Costco,” Peggy Yuhas quickly added. A Helena Valley resident, Yuhas said the long stream of headlights headed into the city before dawn “was like it is on a work day. And that was at 4:30 this morning.”

The women said Black Friday has become a family tradition, and even a slow national economy wasn’t going to stop them from their annual ritual.

“We make up lists the night before for every store,” Lesli Amundson said. “I’m a budgeter, and if you budget right, it’s not an issue.”

Target manager Christian Piper said around 250 shoppers were on hand for the store’s 6 a.m. opening, with a Guitar Hero game and digital television among the big draws.

Across town, shoppers reported waiting 40 minutes in register lines at some stores, although by mid-morning most retailers were busy but not overrun. Several stores opened earlier than usual, but none before JC Penny, which kicked off the shop-a-thon at 4 a.m.

Shoppers were well-behaved, by most accounts. At Staples, manager Darren Stranahan said the store handed out tickets to the earliest people in line to prevent a surge of customers when the doors opened. Nearly 100 people were on hand at 6, he said.

“The laptops went fast, hard drives were flying off the shelves, and digital cameras,” he said.

Tough times didn’t dampen the giving spirit of Helenans, either.

“I’m doing pretty good,” said Christopher Keillor, decked out in an old-fashioned Santa suit and ringing a Salvation Army bell outside of Kmart. “People seem mostly cheerful, and they’re still quite generous.”

Some retailers tried new tactics to lure customers. At Murdoch’s, the entire inventory was marked down 20 percent on Friday, instead of a deal flyer concentrating on a handful of select bargains.

“Tools and welders, quite a few of those have gone out today, because we’ve never had that stuff marked off before,” said assistant manager Bridget Yuhas.

At Universal Athletic in the Capital Hill Mall, having a three-time state champion football team in town was proving good for Black Friday business.

“Since it hasn’t been done in a long time, it’s pretty special,” said retail manager Kevin Bokovoy, noting that Capital High Bruins sweatshirts and other items were brisk sellers on Friday.

The season’s most anticipated visitor reported a safe arrival at the mall — although the warm fall meant he needed to take an alternative form of transportation.

“I got here at 5 this morning,” said Santa Claus, who took wish requests from a steady stream of Helena youngsters Friday morning. “It was kind of sketchy. My reindeer had to stay home because there’s no snow, so I had to come in my fire engine.”

Santa said the credit crisis and possible global recession have had little effect on his workshop.

“There has been a slowdown, but it hasn’t had an impact on us,” he said. “The elves are all working away.”

Reporter John Harrington: 447-4080 or john.harrington@helenair.com