*ice fishing
*snowshoeing/skiing/hiking in city/county parks
*roast hotdogs and marshmallows on a grill in your back yard
*invite friends over to play board games: monopoly, scrabble, yatzee
*minneapolis has an: ice carnival; a holidazzle parade; and an 'art shanty' event where local artists create 'art house' installations along the lines of the fish houses for ice fishing on lake minnetonka-folks walk around on the frozen lake and look at the art installations - this year they are also having performance artists perform on the ice
*minneapolis public library: you can 'check out' passes to the russian museum of art, the swedish institute, the foshay tower - maybe other cities have similar programs
*over the holiday season churches frequently have christmas programs, advent nights, musical choir performances and concerts - check local newspapers and bulletin boards for these events which are almost always free and family friendly
*private schools (and some public schools) also have holiday programs that are open to the public
*when my children were smaller, agencies like the Lions, Vets organizations, etc sometimes had santa days that were free and open to the public - again community newspapers and bulletin boards
*other cultural events that are often open to the public: Kwanza, Hmong New Year,
*go christmas caroling with friends
*hand out cookies or other holiday treats to homeless
*again, churches sometimes have Nativity pageants outdoors with real people and live animals - most children are not as denomination-centric as adults and they always love live animals
*pick a local school and attend their sporting events (community and high school tickets are always cheaper than major league sporting events) - you don't need to have a child attending the school to support your neighborhood school
*take a late night walk with friends and family on a full-moon night - incredibly beautiful
