What special things do you do around Christmas time that don’t cost a penny?

[LaChienneDesFromages]

I have always loved Christmas but increasingly hate the commercialised side of Christmas and a rare visit to The Big Sainsbury’s yesterday with shelves piled high with goodies (i.e tat) left me feeling a bit deflated and cynical. I don’t want Christmas to feel like just another way of making someone richer (and someone else poorer.)

Please cheer me up with reminders of the lovely things people do around Christmas time that are free and don’t necessarily fill the pockets of big stores.

Here are some of ours’:

Attending the Nine Lessons and Carols at our local church this Sunday (double win- free mince pie and mulled wine!)

A winter solstice celebration with friends. Complete with Yule log, bonfire and very tongue in cheek talent show (everyone brings a dish)

Carols around the tree in our local town and a torchlight procession- my community choir are leading the singing.

DD is a Young Quaker- so attending Meeting with her on Christmas Eve. I don’t go with her often enough but an hour of silent contemplation is a rare treat.

I’m sorting through the board games and have done a jigsaw puzzle swap with a friend. And I’m hoping the kids will agree to It’s A Wonderful Life as our Christmas Eve film in front of the fire (Although Nightmare Before Christmas has been mentioned)

Thanks so much. There are some great ideas on this thread. We are now off for a weekend away with DPs to celebrate their 50th anniversary and I’ll definitely bring some of these ideas along. The present recycling game sounds fantastic- and I can’t wait to see my Dad’s face if he ends up with a Baylis and Harding gift set!

While I celebrate at Christmas itself (my DH is mad for it), we don't do presents and it's just us and pets. We enjoy it, but I find I am increasingly stressed by having it all start too early. I am trying to rein DH in a bit there.

There is something in what you say. I have noticed we are getting a bit lazy about doing things and come the clocks changing for autumn I seem to go into a terrible slump connected with SAD and I think we focus too much on Christmas as a distraction. I suppose that's what the original Yuletide was for! But then, nowadays, with electricity and no shortage of food for the winter and so on, it doesn't quite apply now.

So I suppose what I am trying to say in my ramblings is that I want to spread nice things throughout my year a bit more, so I agree with what you say.

On the other hand, this thread is giving me some lovely ideas, both for Christmas and to spread out the rest of the year too.

Watch the Santa sleigh come round the village from the scouts and the PTA (and yes, DH does volunteer so not expecting something we don't give back to, and means it's only me and kids watching as he is out with them)

Christmas lights safari - there are 2 local villages which never disappoint!

All of the church services - I might even do midnight mass this year

Advent windows in the village

Used to do carol singing with the scouts also

I've been doing a Christmassy thing every day this month: choosing a film every night or going to a Carol service or other event.
A favourite is waking round the houses looking at lights.

Christmas carol concert at our village church, the walking nativity, other local light up events and winter walks, plus Christmas films and time with friends and family.

Every Christmas Eve we go to the nearby harbour to see all the Christmas lights on the boats. Have hot chocolate and soak up the festive atmosphere.. come home and play board games ☺️ I love it more than the pre-teen kids I think lol

Sit and watch the darts with DS2. It's become a tradition. He's home from uni tonight on the opening night and I'm so looking forward to it!

The London lights - Oxford St, Regent St, Fortune and Mason windows, Carnaby St, Covent Garden. Free travel for most of us (we live in London and have travel passes paid for).
Community Christmas Fairs and local light switching-on ceremonies. We live in the border of 3 boroughs and get emails from all of them, so we can go to quite a few. Some of them have free Santa Grottos.
Winter Wonderland - free off peak entry on certain days and a free grotto, my toddler likes watching the rides etc without having to go on them.
Storytelling and book signings (of Christmas stories) at our local bookshop.
Christmas crafts at libraries.
Wandering around pop up craft markets, carol singing sessions, craft and face painting at our local market.
Carols at St Paul's cathedral.
Activities at National Gallery and seeing the big tree in Trafalgsr Sq
Finding the Snowmen trail in the city.
Pop up outdoor sculpture in the city.

Last year when I was on a Christmas Eve walk, I saw a family feeding robins out of their hands. So, I am going to do that this year.

We have quite a few lights on the outside of our house and it makes me so happy to think it may bring a smile to someone to else. I do love the lights on dark evenings.

Free or very low cost things that we always do are:

Going to church. I love the Christmas services, we went to a Christingle service last week and seeing the children's faces lit up by the candles when they turned all the lights out in the church was just magic.

Baking or prepping food for Christmas. Making stuffing, steaming a Christmas pudding, decorating gingerbread biscuits all takes up time and can be a lovely afternoon. I always play Carols from Kings whenever I'm doing any form of festive cooking.

We get under blankets and watch all of the cheesy Hallmark style Christmas films.

Board game nights. We've combined these with cocktail evenings at our house before and much hilarity had ensued 😂.

Near us we have a very festive street where they go OTT on the lights. It’s magical and it’s become our family tradition to go there on Christmas Eve and come back for a hot chocolate.

We do that recycling game. It is hilarious, highly recommended!

Walking and driving around to see the xmas lights.

Carol concert

I take my secateurs on a dog walk and gather holly for a table centrepiece.
When girls were younger they’d decorate oranges with cloves for the mantle piece.
We watch ‘It’s a Wonder Life’ on DVD that I bought years ago.
Play board games such as Trivial Pursuit with our now adult girls.

Play piano. Do a few jigsaws. Walking.

Do not get the need for hot chips and snacks while driving around looking at lights! 😂

This is so lovely! Son now 15 and loves Xmas, but I’m never sure why as he is in his room most of the time on computer. Tried to go see the lights in the local town tonight, I had cheery visions of buying a few silly little bits, a hot chocolate etc. instead DH came along, and lo! We got Stuck in John Lewis Telly dept. while he listens to some awful salesman and considers a Telly reduced to 800! As long as he doesn’t buy it the entertainment of the salesman was free😁

Walk/drive around and look at all the Christmas lights.

Watch a muppets Christmas carol with hot chocolate and snacks.

Watch the charity Christmas float when it passes through the village, granted this does cost a bit of money as I give the kids a couple of quid each to throw in the bucket but it’s for local charities and the Santa on the float always makes the kids feel special/give them sweets. The people with the buckets go ahead of the float and discreetly ask the names of the kids if they don’t know them (but usually one of our neighbours helps and know my kids names) and then Santa shouts out ‘Merry Christmas John and Sarah’ etc etc as he passes them.

Make shortbread with the kids

I put a cloth on the table.

We also do the light run on Christmas Eve.

We actually had Christmas lunch yesterday as my autistic son is in Poland with his partner next week. So we're not having another which is great as we don't need to be so rigid. We will take the dogs out to the beach as we live on the coast.

Board games and lots of doing absolutely nothing.

Whammageddon. My teen LOVES it. She doesn’t play, just laughs at me. She’s tough to connect with, so I embrace it.

We also get the big Christmas mixing bowl out and make Christmas cake, mince pies and sausage rolls in early December. She likes none of these things, and I give much of it away now we don’t host, but she still gets so excited about it every year!

Gingerbread tree decorations, or a house. Again, we give much away, but her cousins come and make a mess and have a ball. We have to wait for the eldest of them to get back from university to join in this year!

Havn't read the thread but placemarking for ideas!