Ms. Cheap talked about festive, family-friendly, and FREE holiday activities happening in the Nashville area and her annual Penny Drive.
Ms. Cheap’s Penny Drive runs December 1-31. Proceeds benefit Second Harvest Food Bank. For more information on how to donate to Ms. Cheap's Penny Drive, visit https://www.secondharvestmidtn.org/pennydrive/.
Here's the list of holiday activities Ms. Cheap mentioned:
Dec. 2-3: Nashville Zoo will host Metro Nashville Police Department’s Mounted Patrol Division in the Zoo parking lot from 9am-4pm for its annual Christmas Basket Program, where guests are invited to donate new toys in exchange for complimentary zoo admission tickets (limit of two tickets per family). Children are also invited to drop off letters to Santa Claus for the officers to deliver them to the North Pole. Police officers will deliver the donated toys to more than 300 families on December 24. Toys must be unwrapped and designed for children 12 and younger. The complimentary zoo tickets can be used through May 1, 2024. Details: https://www.nashvillezoo.org/upcoming-events/event/1451853.
Dec. 9- 10: Dickens of a Christmas. This 38th annual festival, which is put on by the Downtown Franklin Association and the Heritage Foundation of Williamson County, re-creates the time of Charles Dickens in historic downtown Franklin. Hours are 10am-6pm on Dec. 9 and 11am-5pm on Dec. 10. This event, which is one of the largest Christmas festivals in Middle Tennessee, fills downtown Franklin with musicians, carolers, dancers, and costumed Dickens characters. Details: https://williamsonheritage.org/events/.
Dec. 10: Woodmont Christian Church’s Annual Walk Thru Bethlehem is set for 12:30pm-6pm inside and outside the church at 3601 Hillsboro Rd. This beloved event features more than 200 costumed characters and live animals (camels, sheep, and goats) recreating the village of Bethlehem at the time of Jesus’ birth. The walk takes about 20 minutes and there are hands-on activities for children, including basket weaving, carpentry, bread baking, wine and olive pressing. Details: https://woodmontchristian.org/walk-thru-bethlehem/ or call (615) 297-8563.
Dec. 12: Tuba Christmas is back with one performance at 11am featuring as many as 100 tubas playing Christmas carols at Nashville First Baptist Church, at the corner of Seventh Avenue South and Broadway in downtown Nashville. The performance is free, but volunteers will collect donations for the Ms. Cheap Penny Drive for Second Harvest Food Bank after the concert. Details: contact G.R. Davis at (615) 714-0247.
In addition to those event mentions, here are other festive holiday activities to enjoy this season:
Dec. 24: The annual Belmont Carillon concert on Christmas Eve is a longstanding holiday tradition. The 1 p.m. concert features Christmas music played on this unusual carillon instrument in the Belmont University Bell Tower in the center of campus. Details: https://www.facebook.com/events/belmont-university-1900-belmont-blvd-nashville-tn-37212/christmas-eve-carillon-concert/156628932884642/.
Plus, Gaylord Opryland and Bass Pro have ongoing free activities, so many churches have free programs. Christ Church Cathedral, Brentwood Methodist, West End. Find out more on Ms. Cheap’s blog at https://www.mainstreet-nashville.com/ms_cheap/ and follow her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mscheap.
