Are you all finished with your shopping, wrapping and decorating? Good for you! You deserve to go out this weekend and have a good time while the rest of us keep plugging along.  Go out and enjoy one of these easy on the budget activities!

 

Friday Night Live

• Friday, December 21
• 7 pm – 9 pm
• Eddie Rose Amphitheater
• Uptown Altamonte

Head out to Cranes Roost Park and enjoy great live entertainment in a beautiful outdoor setting. Friday Night Live is a free concert series, open to the public, which showcases top local artists who perform Jazz, Pop, Big Band and Contemporary music on a weekly basis. Don’t miss Cornucopia’s Holiday Show!

 

The Nativity Story

• Saturday, December 22nd
• 11 am and 12:30 pm
• Pinocchio’s Marionette Theater
• 451 E. Altamonte Drive, Altamonte Springs, FL, 32701
• $10 adults, $8 ages 11 and younger
• More Info: 407-834-8757

Pinocchio’s is proud and honored to once again be able to present to Central Florida audiences this extraordinary story of the First Christmas as conceived and produced by Jane Henson and her daughter Heather Henson. Based on the Biblically-inspired medieval Mystery Plays of England and Europe, “The Nativity Story” features live Renaissance music from The Olde Noyse Players and puppets from the Jim Henson Workshop in New York as well as local artist David Jordan of IBEX Puppetry.

 

Food Truck Fiesta

• Saturday, December 22
• 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM
• Fleet Peeple Park
• 2000 South Lakemont Ave, Winter Park
• More Info: 407-296-5882

Come out to the Food Truck Fiesta for live music and great food. This is a fun, pet-friendly, family event that occurs every 4th Saturday of the month.

 

Light Up UCF

• Daily (ends January 6th)
• UCF Arena
• Building 50 N. Gemini Blvd., Orlando, FL, 32826
• Free entry, skating and ride prices vary
• More Info: 407-823-6006

Pretend that you’re in Rockerfeller Center with Light up UCF and enjoy the only outdoor skating rink in Orlando, holiday movies, music and a world-class holiday light show.

Pricier Weekend Activities:

 

Dickens By Candlelight: A Christmas Carol

• Dec. 20 – 21, 7:30 pm
• Dec. 22, 4 pm, 7:30 pm
• Dec. 23, 4 pm
• Tickets $35, Group rates available
• Dr. Phillips Performing Arts Center at Lake Ivanhoe
• (where the Orlando Ballet is in residence)
• 1111 North Orange Avenue Orlando, Florida 32804
• Phone: 407-222-7669

DICKENS BY CANDLELIGHT, having been performed since 1997 at locations such as the Dr. Phillips Victorian Mansion, the Whispering Heaven Tea Room, or even in private homes is finding its home in the hauntingly cavernous Dr. Phillips Center on Lake Ivanhoe again this year. This production has become a holiday tradition in Central Florida as a three-person, interactive show providing theater-goers with a delightfully unique opportunity to experience A Christmas Carol the way it was intended to be told: as a Ghost Story.

 

Orlando Science Center: Handbell Ensembles

• Saturday, Dec 22 – Sunday, Dec. 23
• 2:00 pm
• 777 E. Princeton Street Orlando, Florida 32803
• $27 for adults and $20 for youth (ages 3-11) includes full day admission to Science Center
• More Info: 407.514.2000

Performing your favorite holiday hits are the Magic of Bronze and the Epiphany Bell Ringers. These handbell ensembles are sure to get folks in a jolly mood.

 

Ice! at Gaylord Palms featuring DreamWorks’ Merry Madagascar

• Daily (ends January 1st)
• Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center
• 6000 W. Osceola Parkway, Kissimmee, FL, 34746
• More Info: 407-586-2000
• $13.99-$27.99

Holiday ice sculpture and snow village showcase with ice slides and themed tributes to DreamWorks’ Animation TV classic “Merry Madagascar.”