Free Christmas Stuff

Types of Holiday Freebies

When it comes to getting free things during the holidays, just about anything goes. Companies promote new goods or services heavily during the biggest spending season of the year. A number of freebies may contain subtle (or not so subtle) advertising for the manufacturer or group that produced it; a small “price” to pay for your free items.

Holiday freebies often include:

• Free wrapping paper
• Free decorations
• Free cards/e-cards
• Free software
• Free coloring book pages
• Free graphics
• Free recipes
• Free Christmas music

Free samples are a great way to try out a product before you buy it, especially if you want to give it as a gift. To get free samples, call a company’s customer service 800-number or visit their website. It will often have a section where you can request a sample. Since it does take several weeks to arrive, plan to request Christmas gift freebies in early November.

Another way to get freebies is to take advantage of “free gift with purchase” or “buy-one, get-one-free” programs that are popular during the holidays. Give the free full- sized gift to someone whom you know would enjoy it; save the gift-with purchase items, often trial sized versions of regular products, to put into holiday gift baskets or use as stocking stuffers.

Websites for Free Christmas Stuff

To get your free Christmas stuff, you can call a company specifically to find out if they offer holiday freebies, or you can visit their website. If you are simply looking for a particular item, such as a printable card, you can visit websites that have listings of various Christmas freebies.

Websites are available with listings that cater specifically to Christmas freebies, along with other sites that have free items all year round. Finding free music, recipes, downloads, cards, and stuff for kids online for holiday fun is just a click away.

Free Christmas Music

Getting free Christmas music is as easy as turning on a holiday Internet radio station, like AccuHolidays. Get more free Christmas music at:

• Links 2 Love—Listen to MIDI files and read song lyrics for free.
• Free Sheet Music Guide—Listing of various Christmas sheet music available for free.
• All Christmas Internet Radio—Hear Christmas carols and other tunes for free over your Internet connection.

Free Christmas Recipes

If you want special recipes to make during the holidays, you don't have to buy a pricey gourmet cookbook. Instead, turn to the Internet to find free Christmas recipes from appetizer to dessert.

Favorite Christmas Recipes offers a number of recipes. Choose one from their extensive listing of desserts or appetizers & drinks list to make your meal a hit. Other free Christmas recipe sites include:

• FunMunch—Get free Christmas recipes, separated by category from vegetables to cookies to main course.
• Food Classics—Christmas recipes with helpful dish descriptions.
• The Veggie Table Vegetarian Christmas Dinner—Get meatless recipes for a delicious holiday dinner, sans meat.

Foodies will enjoy checking out the extensive listing at LoveToKnow’s Recipe site. From plum pudding to Bohemian Christmas cookies, you will find a variety of holiday recipes in the archives.

Free Christmas Computer Downloads and Games

Holiday downloads can range from music files to Christmas clip art to games. Get yours at these websites:

• Snap n Scrap Christmas Freebies—Free Christmas scrapbook graphics.
• Freeloader.com Free Christmas Games—From Polar Bear Parking to Elf Attack, these games keep the holidays exciting.
• Fx Sound and Magic Free Christmas Stuff—Get free animated graphics for Christmas at this website.
• Free Miniclips Christmas Games—The Most Freebies offers several holiday games, including Santa’s Ski Jump and Nordic Chill.
• Christmas Clip Art—Get free clip-art and coloring pages from Feels Like Christmas.

Free Christmas Cards

Sending out holiday cards year after year can be quite the strain on your finances. Not only do you need to find one you truly love, but you have to pay postage as well. Save money and time by sending free e-cards or printables by using these websites:

• Blue Mountain—Visit their “Create & Print” section to find over 50 free printable Christmas cards.
• Yahoo! Greetings—Get 77 different e-cards to choose from for free.
• Hallmark—Choose your free e-card from four different categories: classic, cute, humor, and religious.

Free Christmas Kids’ Stuff

Play kids’ games online, or print out coloring pages to keep them busy during the busy Christmas season. Places to find great kids’ stuff for free include:

• Debbie’s Unit Factory Christmas Freebies—Free games, puzzles, and activities for kids.
• Santa Claus Letters Online—Parents can create free letters from Santa for e-mail or printing.
• The Kidz Page—Get free Christmas games, clip art, puzzles, and more just for kids.
• Creativity Portal—Make free Christmas gift tags from this website.

Supervise young children during Internet use or when doing a craft project that involves hot glue guns, staples, or scissors.

Use Caution When Signing Up for Free Stuff

As with any free stuff website, use it with caution. Be sure your antivirus software is working correctly before trying to download anything from a website, and do not download from a website you do not trust.

Sign up for “free” items online with caution. Any time you put your name and address on the web, you want to be sure it is with a legitimate site. Many offers that ask you to complete extensive questionnaires have hidden caveats that must be met in order to get the product. Do not give out a credit card number to secure a free item.

Keep in mind the old rule of thumb: if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. This will keep you from getting junk email, junk postal mail, phone calls, and possible identity theft when you get free Christmas stuff online..