The holiday season brings celebrations with friends and family, but it's also when wallets take a hit from expenses. Fortunately, there are plenty of things to do around San Diego that won't cost a dime.

San Diego

San Diego is providing a range of free holiday events to help families celebrate without incurring additional expenses. These include the Chula Vista Starlight Parade, the San Diego Bay Parade of Lights, and various tree lighting ceremonies across the region.

Organizers are responding to data indicating that consumers plan to spend less this holiday season by offering more affordable options. Residents can find a full list of free events on the 10news.com website.

Free holiday events bring joy to San Diego families on a budget

The holidays brings celebrations with family and friends, but this is also the time of year where your wallet takes a hit because of all of the expenses, but there are things you can do around town that will keep you in the holiday spirit without costing you a dime. Oh yeah, there's more of the big ones. Daisy Romero and her helpers are working to get her store El Cholo's Kid ready for Saturday night's Chula Vista Starlight Parade. Having lights up and the trees and big or small, I think just any color to the downtown area is just exciting for especially kids. The Starlight Parade is a family friendly event that draws crowds of people to the city's downtown area as floats and marching bands make their way down 3rd Avenue. And the best part, it's free to attend. Even if you don't have money, the holiday spirit isn't just for those with money. You also deserve to have a bit of joy that doesn't require you to spend, spend, spend. So I would encourage people to come out. There's free parking. This is just one of the many free holiday events in San Diego as people look to spread some holiday cheer without breaking the bank. Data from PricewaterhouseCoopers, a multinational firm, shows people are looking to spend 5% less this holiday season compared to last year, where consumers spent an average of $1,600 on gifts, travel and entertainment. To help cut costs, many event organizers are working to offer affordable holiday options for families. Next weekend, on December 14th and December 21st, hundreds of thousands of people will gather around the bay to get a glimpse of about 80 lavishly decorated boats as part of the annual San Diego Bay Parade of Lights. There's no cost to watch. This weekend, people will pack Balboa Park for the city's annual December 9th, where there will be free entertainment, dozens of food and beverage vendors and local merch. And then there are a number of tree lighting ceremonies around town in the South Bay to North County and cities in between. For a full list of holiday events in San Diego, head to our website, 10news.com, and click on this story. Marie Cornell, ABC 10 News.

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