Where to find free Christmas fun around Knoxville this season
If the costs associated with Christmas shopping and various yuletide treats are making your holidays feel more pricey than priceless, just remember that some of the best things in life this time of year are free.
Particularly when you're looking for ways to share some true Christmas spirit with kids, a number of local activities this season require no reservations, tickets or costs other than your time and transport to attend.
Foremost among these options, of course, is the week-long schedule of community Christmas parades, starting Dec. 5 with the downtown Knoxville and Gatlinburg parades and continuing through Dec. 13; you can find a full list of local parades with dates, times and locations here.
Children play among the Christmas light decorations at Founder’s Park during the Light the Park festivities on November 24, 2025, in Farragut, Tennessee.
Plenty of other Christmas-focused fun is available for free as well. Take your pick!
Take a tour of the most spectacular Christmas lights
Glorious light displays are free to see at various parks and neighborhoods around the area, including downtown's Krutch Park, Chilhowee Park and Lakeshore Park in Knoxville, Founders Park in Farragut and The Cove at Concord Park on Northshore Drive.
If you venture as far as Pigeon Forge, you can enjoy more than six million lights, a 20-foot ice fountain and animal displays for free along the Wonders of Light Walking Trail, which has access points from Patriot Park and the LeConte Center.
And to plan a driving tour of some of the best light displays at homes, businesses and churches around Knoxville check the 2025 Knox News Holiday Lights Map.
(Want to add your own light display to our map and help neighbors in need? Just make a donation of at least $20 to the Empty Stocking Fund at esfknox.org. There's a question on the donation form that allows donors to add their address for this year's map.)
Enjoy favorite holiday episodes of PBS Kids shows
On Dec. 13 at the Tennessee Theatre, kids can enjoy holiday episodes of their favorite shows from PBS, and even get photos with beloved characters at the free "Characters, Cartoons and Cheer" event, presented by East Tennessee PBS, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
A sensory-reduced experience for patrons with sensory processing needs will be offered 10:30-11 a.m.
Visit a kid-sized version of Knoxville
Go for a stroll or a ride through Knoxville's Safety City, 165 S. Concord St., 4-8 p.m. Dec. 2-4, 9-11 and 16-18. Families can take their bicycles, tricycles or non-motorized scooters (helmets required), push cars, strollers and wagons. Admission is free, but Safety City will accept donations of canned food items for Second Harvest Food Bank. Find more information on Safety City's Facebook page.
See - and hear - the Christmas story
Now in its 57th year, the annual Nativity Pageant of Knoxville portrays the Christmas story with community volunteers making up the 120-member cast and the 150-voice choir. Special music will begin 30 minutes before the start of the pageant. Performances will be at 3 p.m. Dec. 13 and 14 and 7 p.m. Dec. 15 at Knoxville Civic Auditorium and Coliseum, 500 Howard Baker Jr. Ave.
Admission is free and seating is open. The one-hour performance starts in darkness, so guests are asked arrive early to avoid searching for seats in the dark.
