Black Friday sales will stretch from Thursday to Monday this year

If you're planning to get up early to shop the day after Thanksgiving, you'll have plenty of company. A raft of surveys released as we head into the final days before the holiday shopping kickoff show Black Friday crowds are expected to be as large as usual, but calmer and less free-spending than in past years. And customers will be shopping for toys, housewares and electronics.

Retailers are stretching out the Black Friday sales, starting earlier and spreading the specials throughout the holiday weekend, leading to Cyber Monday, the day online holiday shopping is expected to surge.