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Seven reasons you should start your holiday shopping during Black Friday

Black Friday and the days that follow are the beginning of the holiday shopping season. While it's a great time to stock up on items for yourself or the household in general, don't forget to knock off some big items from your gift list.

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Robert F. Bukaty/AP/File
Target shoppers Kelly Foley, left, Debbie Winslow, center, and Ann Rich use a smartphone to look at a competitor's prices while shopping shortly after midnight on Black Friday, in South Portland, Maine.

Perhaps lost in the shuffle (or store stampede) is the fact that Black Friday and the days that follow are the beginning of the holiday shopping season. While it's a great time to stock up on items for yourself or the household in general, don't forget to knock off some big items from your gift list!

Below we've listed seven different product categories that typically see discounts during Black Friday week that also make excellent holiday gift options. Even if you're not keen on buying for yourself during Black Friday, consider the other people in your life that you'll have to buy for in the coming weeks; you just might save more money in the long-run by being an early shopper!

Cashmere Sweaters

We typically see some great clothing deals at the end of November, especially on Cyber Monday.Average discounts of 54%, combined with increased offers from luxury retailers (at least their outlets), will make great deals on these silky soft layers. We've already seen a women's cashmere sweater advertised for $40 at Macy's for Black Friday, which is an all around great winter price.

Beauty Product Gift Bags

Stores like Bath & Body Works, Sephora, and The Body Shop offer amazing beauty deals on Black Friday; in recent years, we've seen buy one, get three free sales. And many offer a tote bag full of full-sized goodies, available for an additional cost if you spend a certain minimum. If you can afford to spend, say, $25 on products and another $25 on the gift bag, you could split all those products up into four or more (very affordable) gift packages or stocking-stuffers. Last year, we saw Bath & Body Works offer a buy 3, get 3 deal, and a "VIP bag" full of goodies for $20 with purchase.

ThinkGeek Products

This is actually a Cyber Monday recommendation, but these silly, unexpected, and vaguely practicalThinkGeek products are the perfect gift for that gamer, nerd, or fanperson in your life, so they should definitely be on your list anytime. The Monday after Thanksgiving, this site not only offered up to 60% off a selection of inventory, but also gave a coupon code for no-minimum free shipping, a rare promotion from them.

60" HDTV

We have been harping on this one, but it bears repeating: We are expecting even name-brand versions of these sets to hit an astounding low of $549 as a doorbuster. In any event, as always in recent years, this will be an amazing time for HDTV deals, so pick up that set you've been promising that special someone — if you can grab a doorbuster before it's gone. But differently from years past, we're now expecting some great deals on 4K TVs and Smart TVs, so keep an eye out if that's on your list.

Tablets

For a lot of reasons, tablet deals were terrible for much of 2015. But we're expecting an influx of offers on these devices for Black Friday. Don't expect any discounts on brand-new, high-end devices like the iPad Pro or Microsoft Surface Pro 4; but the iPad mini 4 (which is also brand new) and the iPad Air 2 (which is just a year old) are both likely to see discounts of $100.

And if you're just looking for a stocking stuffer, off-brand Androids will be going for as little as $20!

iTunes Gift Cards

December might be the month when gift cards rain from the sky, but iTunes discounts won't necessarily get any better than they do during Black Friday. So this would be a great time to grab these perfect stocking stuffers. The average iTunes gift card discount is 20% off.

Video Games

Gamers of all ages would love the years' hottest video game titles for the holidays. Mortal Kombat X, Battlefield Hardline, Bloodborne, Batman: Arkham Knight, Dying Light, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, and The Order: 1886 have all already hit 50% off (or come near it), so they're solid bets to reach that point again or go even lower on Black Friday. We're predicting current-gen games. And if you have a previous-gen console, titles could get as low as $25 each.

What gifts are you planning on picking up on Thanksgiving, Black Friday, or Cyber Monday? Let us know in the comments below.

Excited for Black Friday deals? Consider subscribing to the DealNews Select Newsletter to get a daily recap of all our deals; you never know when a Black Friday price will be released! You can alsodownload the DealNews app, check out the latest Black Friday ads, or read more buying advice.

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