The best Christmas freebies available right now!

Now you can send free Christmas cards, listen to free Christmas music, and enjoy a free Christmas app or two!

Christmas is right around the corner, and for some of us, we've already spent a little too much on festive cheer. But, no need to worry, there are lots of ways to enjoy the festivities without spending a penny. 

Free Christmas e-cards

Paper Christmas cards definitely seem to have had their day.

Not only does buying and posting the festive tokens add up but sending cards, even if they end up in the recycling, has an environmental cost as well.

But what if you'd still like to send some festive cheer to your friends and relatives? Good news, there are plenty of e-cards available that can be sent to your whole email address book that is environmentally friendly and free!

You can get short festive film clips, traditional Christmas images, personalised cards or animated greetings to send to everyone you know in seconds – so no need to worry about missing the last day for Christmas post.

For a bit of fun you can create an Elf Yourself video. Simply find some photos on your computer or via Facebook of your friends or family (you can have up to five people in your video) and watch them transform into snazzy dancing elves.

Alternatively check out Jimpix, 123 Greetings, Blue Mountain, eCards, Someecards and Ilovecards for a selection of free Christmas greetings. For free charity cards that you can choose to make a small donation on take a look at Friends of the Earth, Macmillan, Barnardo’s and SOS Children's Villages.

Free Christmas stationery

If you'd like to make your own gift tags, decorations, menus, thank you note paper, Christmas cards, or party invitations but can't quite get the festive images just right, you can get a helping hand online.

You'll find lots of free Christmas clipart ideas and images at christmasgifts.com that can be printed out and incorporated into your creations to add that special festive feel you've been looking for.

Other great sites include All Things Christmas and Altogether Christmas where you can print ready-made gift tags, certificates, Christmas cards and even gift wrap for free. Wrapping just got a lot easier! 

Free Christmas music

It's the time of year where we all get together for a party or two, and where would we be without a few Christmas songs blasting from the speakers? 

But if you don't own a Christmassy CD, no need to worry, the internet is here to help and for free!

There's a wide selection of free versions you can choose from including Spotify, Deezer, Radio Tunes (formerly SKY.FM) or Rdio and build a playlist. You will have to suffer some ads, although Deezer currently has very few. Alternatively, you could build a playlist at YouTube.

If you can't make up your mind, and you'd like to enjoy a random mix of Christmas songs try Last.fm. Its Christmas radio station will play some interesting Christmas tunes you might never have heard of.

Also if you fancy a Christmas sing song but can't remember any words, you can find the most popular music and lyrics here.

Free Christmas apps

For smartphone users there are loads of fun and really useful apps in the form of festive ringtones, games, recipes, music, wallpaper and countdowns that you can get for free.

You can get a free Christmas Advent Calendar app from appChocolate, which instead of chocolate treats gives you another free app every day in the countdown to Christmas. It’s available on iOS and Android now.

Or to keep your Christmas list in order on-the-go, try Christmas Gift Lists by Poisson Pie. This app can keep track of all the presents you still need to get and help you manage a budget. It is available on iOS but for a similar type of app for Android phones look for Christmas Gift List Planner by Iwuana.

The HotUKDeals app is also extremely useful for keeping track of major bargains and discounts. It's available on iPhone, Android and Windows.

For a bit of fun, try this Santa Tracker.

Free Christmas knitting patterns

Knitting has become incredibly popular with a surprising number of us now a dab hand with a pair of needles.

If you're an avid knitter, or know someone who is, check out these nifty free knitting patterns of everything from angels to snowmen!

Free Christmas recipes

Our sister site lovefood.com has loads of Christmas recipes from star names including Mary Berry and Rachel Allen. Also check out BBC Good Food for more ideas.

This is a loveMONEY classic article that has been updated

More on Christmas:

Good, cheap Christmas gift ideas

Retailers' last order dates for Christmas deliveries

How to make successful homemade Christmas presents

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