By Colleen Jurkiewicz OnMilwaukee.com Reporter Published Nov 19, 2012 at 10:18 AM

There aren't many shopping excursions as chaotic – or even downright dangerous – as Black Friday. Whether you'll be waiting in line at midnight (or earlier) or shopping online from the comfort of your home, here's the scoop on the best deals, promotions and activities at Milwaukee-area malls, stores and boutiques.

Fred Boutique
522 N. Water St., (414) 270-1009
Fredboutique.com
From 3 to 9 a.m. get 50 percent off the entire store. Want to sleep in? From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., all inventory is 35 percent off.

Harley-Davidson Museum
400 W. Canal St., (414) 287-2789
harley-davidson.com
Find the perfect gift for the Harley lover in your life. There are a host of Black Friday activities at the museum (like the Blazin' Yuletide Ride led by Santa at 4 p.m., or the Black Friday Beer Fest from 5 to 8 p.m.) as well as a great opportunity to take advantage of sale prices at the exclusive gift shop, open 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Browse merchandise like leather jackets, reproduction sweaters and memorabilia. 

Kohl's Department Store
Multiple locations
kohls.com
Kohl's gave OnMilwaukee.com the skinny on the best of their Black Friday deals.  

  • Starting Wednesday, Nov. 21, enjoy more than 500 Early Bird specials available on Kohls.com. The deals will be in-store on Friday, Nov. 23.
  • Earn $15 Kohl's Cash for every $50 spent in-store on online, with no earning limit. 
  • Get 20 percent off and free shipping on Cyber Monday (Nov. 26) and all the following Cyber Week.  

My two favorite Kohl's Black Friday deals: 

  • Misses Apt. 9 cashmere sweater for $34.99 (regularly priced $125).
  • Extra 20 percent off in-store sterling silver jewelry already 55-60 percent off.

Mayfair Mall
2500 N. Mayfair Rd., (414) 771-1300
mayfairmall.com
Head to the Food Court and Center Court for live entertainment, free coffee and breakfast treats from Panera Bread (you'll need the sustenance), complimentary massages (if you're sore from carrying all those shopping bags), an interactive holiday-inspired photo booth, mini-makeovers by Bare Escentuals (my make-up retailer of choice), vendor samples and coupons as well as other perks and surprises yet to be revealed. Sign up for The Club at Mayfair for a chance to win a $1,000 holiday shopping spree. From 8 to 9 a.m. enjoy Santa's Harp Performance. 

The Shops of Grand Avenue 
275 W. Wisconsin Ave., (414) 224-0655
grandavenueshops.com
Spend $50 or more at any retailer in the mall and get a free reusable Grand Avenue tote bag at Guest Services. If parking Downtown makes you nervous, fear not: get a $1 discount for using the Grand Avenue parking garage on Black Friday. Mall hours at 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., but Boston Store opens at midnight, RadioShack opens at 6 a.m. and TJ Maxx opens at 8 a.m. Don't forget to see the Leonard Bearstein Symphony Orchestra in the Center Court.

Target
Multiple Locations
target.com
Target opens at 9 p.m. on Thanksgiving and has a plethora of Black Friday deals, but my favorite ones, naturally, have to do with fashion. 

  • $10 Doorbuster deal on Xhiliration sequin sweatshirt (glitz is de rigeur this holiday season)
  • $15 Mossimo Supply Co. denim leggings (a staple you can never have enough of)
  • $15 Mossimo Supply Co. faux leather jacket
  • $25 Women's Xhiliration suede boots

For Cyber Monday, here's a new time-saving (and money-saving) tool I just discovered. Hukkster.com is a convenient way to track the price of a product online. It's pretty simple: sign up online for free and get a "Hukk It" button on your bookmarks bar. When you see a great gift idea online that is just a little out of your price range, click the "Hukk It" button. The item will be saved to your Hukkster account and you will get notifications via email or text when the item goes on sale or if the price drops.

My advice is to do your "hukking" sometime this week and then wait for the notifications to roll in once the Black Friday deals begin.

Colleen Jurkiewicz OnMilwaukee.com Reporter

Colleen Jurkiewicz is a Milwaukee native with a degree in English from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and she loves having a job where she learns something new about the Cream City every day. Her previous incarnations have included stints as a waitress, a barista, a writing tutor, a medical transcriptionist, a freelance journalist, and now this lovely gig at the best online magazine in Milwaukee.