Ten Things to Do in Denver for $10 or Less (Six Free), December 23-25

Looking for some holiday fun? Here are ten things to do in Denver, and six of them are free.

December 22, 2016

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Christmas lands on the weekend this year, and there's plenty of fun to be had around town. You can craft sexual ornaments, laugh with comics and get high, all on the cheap. Looking for other things to do? Check the Westword calendar for even more events. And happy holidays!

LoDo Aglow
LoDo
5 p.m. Friday-Sunday, free
Keep it old school and take a stroll downtown, enjoying the wonder of glistening lights and local shops decorated with Christmas cheer. Check out festive window displays built by Denver artists in local businesses including the Barth Hotel, the Dairy Block and Rockmount Ranch Wear. Find out which stores are participating here.

Black Sheep Friday: XXX-Mas Craft Fair
MCA Denver
5 p.m. Friday, $5
After you browse through the MCA's exhibits, head upstairs and break out the yarn to craft naughty decorations to bedazzle your Christmas tree — the ultimate naughty symbol. Fancy Tiger Crafts will be providing the materials for you to stitch up erotic holiday-inspired cross-stitches. You can keep it PG, too, but where's the fun in that?

5 Words: Round Two
Voodoo Comedy Playhouse
7 p.m. Friday, free
Enjoy a mix of improv and standup presented by the the 5 Words crew, featuring Katie Bowman, Paul Twarowski and Craig Martin. Bring your friends; shout out ideas for jokes, songs, impressions and general goofy merriment, and have a heck of a time.
Resident Rock Star Presents: A Very Metal X-Mas
Black Sky Brewery
7 p.m. Friday, $5
Don't miss a chance to snap a picture with heavy-metal Santa and his metal maidens at this holiday thrash party. It's an all-ages show before 9 p.m., so you can introduce your kids to a new kind of Saint Nick. Brace yourself for Christmas with the heavy sounds of Angelic Desolation, Woden's Wrath and the Butchering. Then get loud and stay loud at the black-metal brewery.

Psyland with Sundae Service
Pearl's
8 p.m. Friday, free
Get ready for a good old-fashioned freakout at Pearl's. The house, disco, funk and reggae dance hits will go psychedelic, thanks to DJs Psyland and Sundae Service. It's going to be one of the hottest spots — despite the cold — to get wasted with your psycho family before the holiday. Remember to bring gently used winter coats and new toys to donate as well.

Keep reading for more events this weekend.
High Plains Comedy Presents: The Grawlix Return
Bug Theater
8 and 10:30 p.m. Friday, $12
The legendary Grawlix comedy troupe is returning to Denver, and this show is not to be missed — if you can manage to scrounge up tickets. Adam Cayton-Holland, Andrew Orvedahl and Ben Roy, the boys from TruTV's Those Who Can't, take the stage at the Bug with a slew of local and national special guests you'll have to see to believe.

Safe Boating Is No Accident
hi-dive
8:30 p.m. Friday, $10
’Tis the season for giving, and it's pretty awesome that Safe Boating Is No Accident will be playing this show to release its newest EP — and to raise money for the Oakland Ghost Ship fire relief fund. Male Blonding and Lee Avenue will be kicking out the jams as well.

Santa Meet & Greet
Union Station
10 a.m. Saturday, free
This is your last chance to get a good word in with the big man. Come down to the Great Hall in Union Station to revel in one last bit of public holiday cheer. Grab the kids cones from the Milkbox Ice Creamery and get yourself a little something special from the Terminal Bar. Santa will be listening to your naughty or nice requests until 3 p.m.
Huge Comic & Toy Auction
Mile High Comics
11:30 a.m. Saturday, free
Grab some very last-minute stocking stuffers on the cheap at this comic and toy auction. Mile High Comics will be peddling bargain tchotchkes for kids of all ages and doling out free cookies, to boot.

2nd Annual Cannamas
Sancho's Broken Arrow
1 p.m. Saturday, free
The hippie elves rolled up a thousand doobies, and they must be handed out — on Colfax Avenue, of course. Santa's helpers will be starting at Sancho's and skipping through the neighborhood in search of green-friendly fiends. It's free weed, so why not? Just go for it.

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Alex Brown is a freelance writer from Denver, Colorado. You can find him around town falling off his skateboard, eating burritos and petting dogs.

Contact: Alex Brown