8 Free Ways to Celebrate Christmas

Get baking

Your mission this Christmas Eve, should you choose to accept it, is to start a new holiday ritual of baking cookies for Santa ... with your kids. While this task may get messy, we’re sure “Santa” will appreciate the sweet treats.

Watch the sunrise

If your little ones are anything like us when we were six, then odds are they’ll be running through the house on Christmas morning in their footie pajamas threatening to open their stocking stuffers if you don’t get out of bed right now. Well, hey — since you’re all up — pack a thermos of hot cocoa (and an IV of coffee for yourself!) and greet the Christmas morning sunrise family-style.

Throw a Christmas scavenger hunt

Come Christmas morning, prevent your tykes from turning into the Tasmanian devil — tearing through those presents you spent weeks wrapping — with an old-school scavenger hunt. Your kids will call it a “fun game.” You’ll call it “another 20 minutes of peace and quiet” while they hunt for their holiday booty.

Hold a tacky Christmas sweater competition

It’s time to dig that godforsaken Christmas sweater you got from your Great Aunt Mildred (and the matching ones she got your kids — how thoughtful!) out of the attic for a friendly Christmas Day competition of “Whose sweater is tackier?” The priceless family photos that will be taken make this a win-win situation for all.

Go caroling

Get Dad to put down his new iPad and Timmy Jr. to pry his hands off his new xBox controller, and enjoy a good old-fashioned caroling sesh with friends and family. Warning: Shy away from “The Twelve Days of Christmas” if you’ve had one too many eggnogs, Mom and Dad ...

I spy ... Christmas lights!

Cram your kids, the 10 brand-new toys that just have to come along, the dog, Grandma Kate, Uncle Fred, and the rest of the clan in the ol’ minivan for a drive around town to catch sight of the most festive Christmas lights in the neighborhood. While seatbelts are required, a tacky wreath on the front of your cruiser is optional.

Have a movie night

After you’ve all eaten yourselves into a food-induced coma, spend Christmas night watching a holiday flick with the entire family. Our suggestion? National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation — the perfect combination of redneck cousins, fighting in-laws, and squirrel-infested Christmas trees to make your own hectic holiday experience seem tame in comparison.

Give back

Trade your kiddies’ Santa hats for hairnets and volunteer at a local soup kitchen — the perfect place to teach your tots that there’s more to Christmas than the new dress-up Bratz dolls and Angry Birds block game. (Don’t know where to get started? Here are 25 charities and organizations to get involved with this holiday!)