Then there was the fire that led to the evacuation of a third of the city.
And then there was the blizzard that all but canceled Christmas.
Overall, it's been an unusual holiday season. And perhaps few have felt the strain of those events more than local retailers, who rely on brisk holiday sales for success.
Fortunately, for many local retailers, the good days outweighed the bad.
"I would say sales have fluctuated a lot this year," said Ashley Molacek, executive team leader at Target in Norfolk. "There were good days, and then there were some light days."
But even with contributing factors for the light days figured in, Molacek said she believes this Christmas season was better than last year.
In fact, Molacek said in-store traffic the weekend before Christmas was similar to an extended-hour Black Friday.
"I feel like it’s been a lot busier," she said. "There’s a lot more people shopping during the week. It also feels like there’s been a shorter period between Thanksgiving and Christmas."
Molacek also contributes the jump in business to the increased availability of Black Friday items and the Target corporate office accommodating the local store’s need for popular items.
"We asked (corporate) for increases in toys before the holiday season, and it hit before Black Friday," she said. "We had a lot of the Black Friday stuff in stock in large quantities, not just one or two of the popular items."
Also, she said, shoppers didn't wait for "the gift," but rather settled for a similar product if the item the customer had been looking for wasn’t available.
"We were able to take care of the guests whether or not they got what they came in for or something similar," she said.
Among the most popular items sold this season was the Snuggie -- the wearable blanket, electronics and toys, especially Zsu Zsu Pets, Molacek said.
Similar items were popular at the Norfolk Wal-Mart store, said store manager Steve Grimm.
Toys, he said, sold better this year than last. Flat-screen TVs and other electronic items were the popular items sold.
Even though the weather and then the fire put a damper on sales during some of the holiday season, Grimm said he believes Wal-Mart recovered.
"I think we've gotten that back," he said.
Overall, he said, the store did well.
Brett Alswager said he has seen a steady flow of traffic inside the Norfolk Sneakers store, which sells athletic apparel.
"Especially on the weekends, it's been pretty steady," the store manager said.
In fact, one particular item -- the Reebok EasyTone Shoes -- have been so popular, Alswager said the store has been "going through them like crazy."
The original Sneakers store has been open in Columbus for about 15 years, Alswager said. Although this is the first Christmas season the Sneakers Norfolk location has been open, Alswager said he expects good things in the future.
"We've had a lot of people in," he said. "I'm kind of overwhelmed -- but that's a good thing."
