HOUSTON – There are lots of free events going on this weekend to get your family in the holiday spirit and keep you from blowing your budget.
Houston Mayor Annise Parker is inviting Houstonians to ring in the season at the Mayor's 2012 holiday celebration and tree lighting Friday night at Hermann Square at City Hall from 6 to 8 p.m.
A 67-foot white fir holiday tree will be lit, fireworks will fill the skyline and Dennis Edwards and The Temptations Review will bring their R&B sounds downtown.
While you are there, take a picture under Texas' largest traveling mistletoe ball hanging off a 15-foot candy cane.
Now through Jan. 3, Macy's Mistletoe on the Go!, is making five week-long "kiss-stops" at downtown Houston landmarks including City Hall, Market Square Park, the Hobby Center, Wortham Theater and Discovery Green.
This 15-foot candy cane complete with a 4-foot hanging mistletoe is accessible to the public, and passersby are invited to stand under the massive ball and pucker up!
For every lip lock shared on the Downtown District's Facebook page, Macy's will donate $1 (up to $5,000) to Make-A-Wish Foundation.
In Sugar Land, Friday night there will be a holiday performance by the Houston Choral Showcase in the Plaza from 7 to 9 p.m.
Directed by Diane Benson, the Houston Choral Showcase performs pop, jazz, swing, show tunes, movie songs, patriotic pieces and holiday tunes.
In north Houston Saturday night, the Christmas classic "It's a Wonderful Life" will be shown on an inflatable outdoor movie screen at the under construction Alamo Drafthouse Cinema at the Vintage Park Shopping Village. Bring a chair or blanket and your own popcorn.
On Sunday, the Children's Museum of Houston will hold the last Target Free Sunday of the year. It's your chance to take the kids to enjoy the museum for free from 12 to 6 p.m.
In Galveston, it is Dickens on the Strand weekend. The family festival will include parades, non-stop entertainment on the festival's stages, plus strolling carolers and roving street musicians.