Forsaking the traditional after-Thanksgiving sales, some Utahns had a head start on holiday purchases this year before the turkey was even cold.

Although smaller retail stores closed their doors for Thanksgiving, many big-box retailers welcomed shoppers Thursday with extended hours and special Thanksgiving day savings.

"I hate crowds. I was so excited to see the ShopKo ad saying they were open today," said Susan Dahlstrom, who spent her Thanksgiving finishing her Christmas shopping rather than braving the mall madness today. "It's great; no one is in there."

ShopKo joined other warehouse retailers like Wal-Mart and Kmart on the short list of stores open on Thanksgiving in Utah. Gart Sports even held a special Thanksgiving day sale to rival post-Thanksgiving discounts, and Kmart extended its hours for holiday shoppers.

Wal-Mart spokeswoman Sharon Webber said only Super Center Wal-Marts were open on Thanksgiving because they have grocery stores that provide those "last-minute fixings for dinner."

But in downtown Salt Lake City, the ZCMI Center and Crossroads Plaza were locked up for the holiday. That's the way it should be, said Nate Stansfield, marketing director for both malls.

"I think it's a shame that people have to work on Thanksgiving. It's a day for relatives and friends to get together," Stansfield said.

Neither mall has ever opened on Thanksgiving and has never received complaints from shoppers or store owners, Stansfield added. In fact, he said employees are grateful to get a break before the holidays usher in retail mania.

"I think most people know Friday is the big shopping day and they can wait 24 hours for it," he said. "I can't imagine we're missing out on much."

Robert Farrington, executive director of the Salt Lake Downtown Alliance, said he hopes Christmas shopping on Thanksgiving isn't becoming a new trend because it would be just one more way the holidays are creeping in sooner every year. Farrington said he was surprised to see Christmas decorations making their debut in Wal-Mart this year only aisles away from Halloween costumes.

"The big-box stores just have a whole different approach." he said. "Maybe it's an act of desperation."

As for downtown Salt Lake City, Farrington said businesses try not to jump-start the holiday season.

"It's been a conscious effort to make a bigger splash the day after Thanksgiving," he said. "People are a lot of time turned off if you put Christmas things out too early."

Farrington added that he did not think there was a big market for retail on Thanksgiving.

Though Thanksgiving shopping in actual stores may be slow to catch on, Craig Berman at Amazon.com said turkey day is usually a very strong sales day for the on-line warehouse retailer. A holiday meter on Amazon's Web page showed about 300,000 customers visiting the site every hour this Thanksgiving.

"There are a lot of shoppers who prefer relaxing at home and doing holiday shopping on Thanksgiving," Berman said. "It's always a good day for us."

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E-mail: estewart@desnews.com