NORFOLK, Neb. - After an annual Christmas festival was canceled in Norfolk, local businesses are still giving people a way to enjoy the holidays.

"Well they're still trying to do a little bit of Christmas but with the pandemic and to be safe [they] sized it down a little bit," said Denise Wilkinson Norfolk Chamber of Commerce President. "But your stores are still doing Christmas."

Shops downtown are celebrating a week of sales. Kicking off the shopping extravaganza with black Tuesday, then black Friday, and even a small business Saturday.

Customers may benefit from all the discounts and sales, but the community also gets a cut.

For every dollar you spend in a locally owned store in Norfolk, 67 cents of it stays in the community.

"These small businesses are the ones supporting your churches, your softball team, your non-profit organizations," Wilkinson said. "We know it's easy to sit in your jammies and dial into the big box stores. But those big box stores aren't the ones supporting your community."

The week of deals isn’t just for clothing store, local pet store owner Jessica Goeden says all kinds of retailers can get in on the action.

"Sometimes the smaller businesses where they're not so jam-packed is the place to go," Healthy Paws owner Jessica Goeden said. "They don't have to worry as much as the big retail stores. You get more personal service in a small business."

Now that Norfolk's mask mandate is going into effect Thursday, in-person holiday shopping might not be on top of someone’s list.

But Norfolk businesses are aware of the concerns and are offering contact-less services.

"We're going to keep it low and personalized," said Deb Ferris owner of I Bee Quiltin. "So that they shouldn't have to worry about large crowds. We can do one-on-one or even curbside, call-in or actually mail. Anything like that to give them what they need."