Most homeschoolers are already trying to survive on one income in our two income world, and the current economic situation is not making things any better.  Lots of families I know are really having to cut back on their expenses. 

Our family is no exception, and I have been trying to find ways to enjoy Christmas events and activities without spending a lot of money.  I would LOVE to hear what you all do for cheap or free entertainment at Christmas.  I haven’t included things like volunteering, making homemade crafts and goodies, caroling, Christmas parades and the other free Christmas activities we all are used to participating in – I’m sure your calendars are already full with plenty of church and outreach events.
But I have found lots of other free special events for our family to do!  Some have been hard to find so in this post I thought I would share some of the ways I find cheap or free entertainment.

We live in a fairly small town so there are not many free opportunities right here in our community so I have to get creative in looking for Christmas opportunities.  Here are some of the tools I use to find activities:

Churches
Not to sound snobbish, but I don’t really enjoy the typical children’s church Christmas plays unless my children (or children I know well) are in them (doesn’t that sound terrible to say!  Sorry – just being honest), so I usually skip going to typical church plays.  But, I do check the websites of the larger churches in our community for holiday special events.  Most large churches have choirs and put on some kind of free Christmas cantata, carol sing-along, or candle light up service.
You can also usually find a free live nativity scene for the kids to enjoy and the whole family to reflect on.
Community choirs & bands
Most cities have a community band and/or choir.  They tend to be large and in our experience, very professional.  They usually have a free Christmas concert every year.
Newspapers
I go to the newspaper websites of my town and the large cities surrounding us.  Most papers have a monthly calendar and you can see all upcoming community activities.  I don’t like waiting to just read the paper as it comes out – a lot of times you don’t receive much notice of upcoming events – looking at the calendars on the websites allows me time to put them on our family calendar and I get more variety by checking nearby towns (without having to buy all those papers)!
Colleges
I also check the local college calendars.  We have several universities in our area and most have free concerts put on by their bands or choirs, not only around Christmas time, but all year round.
Museums
Many museums have special Christmas displays and activities.  Go to the websites of the museums you are willing to drive to and sign up for their email newsletters, that way you will always know when something special is going on.
Libraries
Most libraries have Christmas story reading times or craft making activities. 
Eventful
This website is a wonderful resource for events in your community.  Check it out at www.eventful.com  You are sure to find something that you love!
Parks & Rec
Our state parks put out monthly emails with special events that are going on.  I sign up for these so that I don’t have to go to each park’s website to find out their activities.  Many parks have hay rides, sleigh rides, star gazing, and other free events this time of year.
State website
Our state has a tourism website that is a great resource when looking for activities (and field trip ideas, too).  Ours is searchable by area in the state.  I typed in our search area and dates and found many activities and places to visit that we had never heard of before!

While you are doing all that web surfing, you might as well listen to some free Christmas music:

Free Christmas Music
We LOVE listening to old Christmas classics and I found some websites that let you listen to music stations for free.  The one I like best is www.live365.com
They have a great selection of Christmas stations to choose from. 

Have any other ideas of how to find free Christmas entertainment?  Please share!