Black Friday in Bend did not have the same urgency as years past, when shoppers filled stores looking for bargains on the national shopping day after Thanksgiving.

Instead, stores limited the number of shoppers at one time and extended deals through the week to reduce large crowds on Friday due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Shoppers still lined up outside the big-box stores and looked for Christmas gifts in Bend’s downtown shops and the Old Mill District.

Bend couple Nate Chamberlain, 20, and Mahryahna Callegari, 19, spent Friday morning at Target and Walmart. They waited with about 150 people outside Target and enjoyed having fewer people in the store when it opened. But none of the Black Friday deals caught their attention.

“The deals are not as good,” Chamberlain said. “I think it’s to discourage some people.”

The couple had better luck in the Old Mill District, where they found bargains on jeans from American Eagle, video games from GameStop and candles from Bath and Body Works.

Callegari grew up shopping on Black Friday with her family, and said this year was much quieter.

“This year there’s just not a lot going on,” she said. “And so it makes you buy less.”

Despite not finding as many deals, the couple enjoyed the calmer Black Friday.

“It’s not as intense in the aisles,” Chamberlain said.

On Friday, the Old Mill District added a festive element for the visitors. Children were able to drop letters to Santa in two designated mailboxes. The mailboxes are outside Jimmy John’s sandwich shop and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream shop, and will collect letters until Dec. 19.

Each letter with a return address will get a response from Santa, who will visit the Old Mill District on the first three Fridays and Saturdays in December at 1 p.m. each day. Santa will ride in the back of a pickup truck and wave at families while he picks up the letters.

The Old Mill District is not hosting visits with Santa this year due to the virus.

Outside Banana Republic in the Old Mill District, Jeff Tyler and his 11-year-old daughter, Abigail, sat to take a quick break from Black Friday shopping. Tyler, who was visiting from Camas, Washington, said he was happy to see a less hectic day of shopping compared to past Black Fridays.

“There’s no lines,” Tyler said. “It’s abnormally slow.”

The smaller crowds meant Tyler’s daughter was able to visit more shops and spend the allowance she has been saving. She bought herself some video games from GameStop and a Harry Potter gift basket from Sweet Tooth candy shop for a friend.

Abigail had shopped on Black Friday once before, but this year was the most fun, she said.

“I’ve only gone out once,” she said. “We went out to a Best Buy and then we just turned around.”

In downtown Bend, local shops offered sales Friday they would normally save for Small Business Saturday, a national holiday that encourages people to support local businesses.

Bend resident Katie Freed said she made a point to shop downtown Friday to support the local businesses that have struggled during the pandemic. Freed brought her 6-year-old son, Kyle, to find clothes and books downtown.

“We just really wanted to support small businesses, so we are really trying to shop small this year,” Freed said.

Usually Freed avoids Black Friday shopping, she said. But not this year.

“Today, we decided let’s go out of our way to support small businesses,” Freed said.