Ms. Cheap shares 10 free things to do this holiday season!

Ms. Cheap shares 10 festive and fun things you can do with your family for free this holiday season!

• Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Santa’s Wonderland transforms Bass Pro’s Opry Mills store into a Christmas Village, offering games, crafts, giveaways and free 4X6 photos with Santa. You can reserve a spot online for photos so you don’t have to wait in line. The Wonderland runs through Dec. 24.
  Details: https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/santas-wonderland [basspro.com]

• Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center of course has lots of paid holiday offerings like ICE and its dinner show, but there are plenty of free things to do at the resort too – like seeing the 5 million lights, walking through the giant Nativity display, and enjoying the nightly light and fountain show in the Atrium. Plus, it is just fun to walk through the lavishly decorated hotel and indoor gardens. You can park at Opry Mills and walk over and there are lots of great photo opportunities around the resort. Details: christmasatgaylordopryland.marriott.com [christmasatgaylordopryland.marriott.com].

• Tour the Tennessee Residence. On Dec. 6-8 and Dec. 13 – 15, Governor Bill Lee and First Lady Maria Lee will open the fully decorated Tennessee residence for free holiday tours. Officials say to allow 60-90 minutes for the self guided tours, which require a reservation and a valid ID. Parking and free shuttle service come with the reservations. See https://www.tn.gov/residence/christmas-at-the-tennessee-residence.html [tn.gov] or call615-399-4254.

• Lipscomb University’s 20^th annual Lighting of the Green holiday concert featuring Amy Grant, is set for Dec. 3, in the outdoor Allen Arena Circle on the Lipscomb University campus. Joining Grant this year will be special surprise musical guests along with Lipscomb’s ensemble Sanctuary and Gospel Choir and choirs from Lipscomb Academy and Lipscomb University. Festivities begin at 4 p.m. with the concert starting at 6 p.m. and concluding with the lighting of the giant Christmas tree. Guests are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and blankets to the concert. Shuttles will run from 3-10 p.m. from Woodmont Hills Church, 3710 Franklin Road. There will also be holiday vendor “Merry Marketplace” including free pictures with Santa inside McQuiddy Gym starting at 4:30 p.m. Details: https://www.lipscomb.edu/events/lighting-green-1 [lipscomb.edu]

• Tennessee Agriculture Museum is having its Christmas open house from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dec. 5 with refreshments, local vendors and more. It is located at the Ellington Agricultural Center at 404 Hogan Road. Details: https://www.tn.gov/agmuseum/events.html [tn.gov]

• Goodlettsville’s Yulefest is a long-running step-back-in-time festival, which features musicians, storytellers and demonstrations in the cabins of the fort and in the historic home. The event which has been taking place for more than 35 years is from 5-8 p.m. Dec. 7, at the Goodlettsville Visitors Center and Historic Mansker’s Station. Details: https://www.goodlettsville.gov/1420/Yulefest [goodlettsville.gov]

• Tuba Christmas – the annual concert featuring 100 tubas playing Christmas music, is set for 11 a.m. on Dec. 10, at First Baptist Church, 8th and Broadway in downtown Nashville. Free admission, no reservations or tickets needed, but there will be a collection of donations for the Ms. Cheap Penny Drive for Second Harvest after the concert. If you want to come early, there will be some Christmas Dixieland music from a 5-piece band starting at 10:30 a.m. This will be the 38th annual tuba concert in Nashville. If you play tuba or euphonium, you are invited to play in the ensemble.

• The 39^th annual Dickens of a Christmas festival recreates the time of Charles Dickens in historic downtown Franklin, with musicians, carolers, dancers and costumed Dickens characters. This is one of the largest Christmas festivals in Middle Tennessee. Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Dec. 14 and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Dec. 15. Details: williamsonheritage.org/events/dickens-of-a-christmas [williamsonheritage.org]

• Woodmont Christian Church’s Annual Walk Through Bethlehem features more than 200 costumed characters and live animals recreating the village of Bethlehem at the time of Jesus’ birth. The event is at the church from noon to 6 p.m. Dec. 8.
  Visit the merchants and shopkeepers, sample the food, stop at the synagogue, pass through the crowded inn, and find Mary and Joseph with baby Jesus in the manger. The church is at 3601 Hillsboro Road. Details: woodmontchristian.org/walk-thru-bethlehem [woodmontchristian.org] or call 615-297-8563

• The annual Belmont Carillon Christmas concert takes place at 1 p.m. on Christmas Eve. The concert takes place in the Belmont University Bell Tower, in the center of campus where the carillon is located. Continuing a tradition that started during Ward-Belmont days, the concert features traditional Christmas music played on the tower’s 42-bell carillon. Details: cmpaevents.belmont.edu [cmpaevents.belmont.edu]