Festive things to do in December with friends can be as simple as a lights drive, a holiday music night, or an evening sharing photos from the year. Choose something you can enjoy together, then agree whether it replaces your usual gift exchange.

For friends near St. Louis, a drive through Santa’s Magical Kingdom offers a Christmas outing with a carload admission price. You can also keep the gathering at home. The useful starting point is a plan everyone understands before anyone spends money.

Quick Answer: What Can Friends Do Instead of Exchanging Gifts?

Friends can choose one shared December activity and agree to skip purchased presents. Pick a spending limit, make food and other extras clear, and set a date that works for the people attending.

A no-gift gathering can still cost money. State that cost upfront so a ticket, meal, or contribution does not become an unexpected replacement obligation.

Four Ways to Spend a December Evening Together

Choose the activity around how your friends like to spend time, rather than how much you can fit into one evening.

Plan	What you do together	What to settle first
Christmas lights drive	Share a car and see the displays	Admission split, driver, and pickup point
Holiday music night	Each person brings a few songs and explains their choices	Whether anyone is hosting food
Year-in-photos evening	Share a small selection of pictures and the stories behind them	A simple way to display the photos
Favorite-film night	Watch one movie with food you have agreed on	Movie access, food cost, and finishing time

Take a Christmas Lights Drive

A lights drive gives you a seasonal activity without asking someone to prepare their home for a party. Meet at one pickup point and agree on any stops before leaving.

At Santa’s Magical Kingdom in Eureka, the drive-through display includes animated Christmas scenes, a shimmering waterfall, oversized toys, and an illuminated Gateway Arch. Preview the Kingdom’s Christmas light displays with the friends coming along.

Share the Songs You Associate With December

Ask each friend to choose three songs and say why they picked them. A childhood favorite, a song from a former workplace, or something discovered this year gives you more to talk about than a background playlist.

Keep the setup small: one speaker and a place to sit. If nobody wants to host a meal, say so when arranging the night.

Look Back Through the Year’s Photos

Have everyone choose five pictures before you meet. They can show a small achievement, a trip, a shared joke, or an ordinary day they want to remember.

Take turns explaining the pictures rather than scrolling through whole camera rolls. A phone or laptop is enough; nobody needs to make a presentation or buy a printed album.

Pick One Film and Settle the Food Plan

Choose the movie before the gathering so the evening does not disappear into browsing. Use something the group already has access to, or agree on any rental cost first.

Food can be as simple as a shared takeout order or snacks already at home. Make a potluck optional rather than assuming every guest wants to cook.

Agree on What “No Gifts” Means

Tell friends whether the shared activity replaces presents or sits alongside them. That distinction matters when one person expects a lights drive and another arrives with something for everyone.

Agree on these points before confirming the plan:

• Presents: Are you skipping all purchased gifts, or only the organized exchange?
• Activity cost: What is the most each person will pay?
• Food: Is it included, bought separately, or optional?
• Hosting: Who handles the space, setup, and cleanup?
• Attendance: Is the plan for adults only, or are partners and children included?

Keep cards and homemade treats within the same agreement. Requiring everyone to bake or write something can add another task to an evening meant to be simple.

Give Everyone the Full Cost Before They Commit

Budget for the whole plan, including travel and extras. A low admission price does not tell friends what dinner, fuel, or refreshments will cost.

For a lights outing at Santa’s Magical Kingdom, family-vehicle admission is $35 Sunday through Friday and $40 on Saturday, including tax. Payment is cash at the exit booth.

Here is an admission-only example for four friends sharing one eligible family vehicle:

Visit night	Vehicle admission	If four friends split it equally
Sunday through Friday	$35	$8.75 each
Saturday	$40	$10 each

Those figures are your own cost-sharing calculation, not a group discount or a separately sold ticket. Agree on fuel contributions and optional purchases separately.

Check the current admission, hours, and directions before choosing your night. Larger vehicles have different rates and size restrictions.

Keep the Shared Plan Small Enough to Happen

Offer two possible dates and one activity. Once you know who can attend, confirm a meeting point and an approximate time to head home.

If an outing is the main event, you do not need to add dinner, shopping, and a second venue. Friends who want a longer evening can make an additional plan without turning it into a requirement for everyone.

At Santa’s Magical Kingdom, the snack shack serves hot cocoa, coffee, freshly baked chocolate chip cookies, and other refreshments. A stop at Kringle’s General Store can be an optional addition to the lights drive, with purchases paid for separately.

When Friends Have Different Budgets

Choose the amount people can comfortably spend before booking a paid activity. Let anyone share a limit privately rather than asking them to explain it to the whole group.

If the proposed cost does not work, move to a plan using food, music, or movie access you already have. Buying a ticket should not be the condition for seeing your friends in December.

If someone offers to cover a cost, clarify what they mean. Paying the vehicle admission is different from covering everyone’s food and shopping as well.

Questions About December Plans With Friends

What are simple festive things to do in December with friends?

Choose a Christmas lights drive, a holiday music night, a year-in-photos evening, or one favorite movie. Agree on food, cost, and timing before adding more activities.

Does skipping presents mean the gathering should be free?

Skipping gifts and choosing a free activity are separate decisions. State any admission, food, rental, or travel costs before friends agree to the plan.

What if someone still brings a present?

Thank them without starting an unplanned exchange or asking others to match it. Before the next gathering, restate the agreement so everyone knows what to expect.

How do we avoid making one person do all the hosting?

Divide specific jobs before meeting, such as arranging food, providing the space, and handling cleanup. A lights drive is another option when nobody wants to host at home.

Can we share the admission cost at Santa’s Magical Kingdom?

Friends can arrange their own split of the vehicle-admission cost. Four people dividing a $35 family-vehicle admission equally would pay $8.75 each; that calculation excludes fuel and separate purchases.

Do we need to buy something at Kringle’s during the visit?

Shopping and refreshments are separate from the lights-drive admission. Decide whether to include that stop and let each person choose whether to spend more.

Make One December Plan With Your Friends

Choose the activity, settle the cost, and agree on presents before the date goes into everyone’s calendar. A clear plan leaves the evening for spending time together.

For a St. Louis-area lights outing, plan your visit to Santa’s Magical Kingdom in Eureka. If you need to clarify your visit arrangements, send our team a visit inquiry.