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Great deals are lurking around every corner as you peruse the holiday sales. But your blood pressure still rises every time you swipe your debit or credit card. The prospect of receiving 20 percent off red-dot clearance specials doesn't seem to have the appeal you thought it would.

When money is tight and the job market is bleak, it really doesn't matter how much you are saving if, in the end, you you are still emptying your wallet. Traditional expenses associated with the holidays drain not only our wallets, but our holiday spirit.

That is why this year we all need to focus on the many holiday treasures that come without a price tag. Music is just such a treasure. Over the next few weeks, schools everywhere will be hosting holiday concerts during which budding young musicians will have the opportunity to demonstrate their newly found skills.

If one of the performers happens to be related to you, the music will be heavenly. You will wonder when this particular group of children will start being hounded by talent agents. You will neatly tuck away a copy of the program to save forever and ever.

You don't have to be related to one of the children in the band or chorus to show up at the winter concert. You could simply support the schools that receive your tax money year after year and let them provide you with a night of free entertainment.

You might notice a few more strained or fractured notes than will relatives of the performers. Most likely the crumpled, stained program will be found under a seat when you next clean your car. However, it will be difficult to leave without absorbing at least some of the excitement, pride, and pure joy that fills the school auditorium during the holiday concert.

On the way to and from the performance, as well as on the way to and from anywhere else you have to go after the sun goes down, which is early these days, you can view the beautiful holiday light displays erected on the lawns of friends and neighbors. Once the displays start cropping up, my children and I like to rate them on a scale of one to 10.

"Wow, look at that 'eight' just ahead on the hill to the left," I will exclaim to the boys as I'm driving through town.

"Eight? I would only give that one a 6.5 -- where's the creativity?" After years of evaluating light displays, my kids can be a bit critical.

"At least it's not a 'three' like ours this year."

"Now wait just a minute -- we don't have everything up yet. There are two more boxes of lights in the attic that we haven't been able to find since we finished the addition on the house," I try my best to excuse our own pitiful display, but in consideration of the extravagant illuminations we've put together in years past, I really can't blame my kids for suggesting our decorations are currently sub par.

Getting back to the displays around town, you should take different routes to your usual places over the next month so you will have the opportunity to see, enjoy, and rate as many cheerful and interesting displays as possible.

On the warmer, dryer evenings, it's always nice to bundle up, pack a thermos of hot chocolate and walk through the neighborhood. By slowly strolling by rather than whizzing past in your car, you will be able to experience each display more fully. You will also be able to generate a more thoughtful, objective rating for each festive production of lawn luminosity.

While you are out viewing, another feel-good, cost-free opportunity is to stop in and visit with friends and family. Sit a spell and talk about all the things you still need to do to get ready for the big holiday get-togethers. Swap recipes for snow cream, peppermint coffee and sweet potato pie.

It costs absolutely nothing to reminisce about past holidays, winters with the earliest snows and that time the Jones' dog relieved itself on a 50,000-bulb light display, complete with twirling trees and a forest of deer eating the front lawn, causing the brown-out of 1997.

During the holiday season, there is never a lack of conversation starters making the "chore" of visiting seem easy. From bragging about your nephew's performance at the middle school to gossiping about the tacky blinking Santa-in-a-bathing-suit on the roof of the house on the corner, awkward silences are difficult to come by this time of year.

If you really want to soak up the holiday spirit without having to shell out a nickel, head over to the nearest assisted living or nursing center and visit with a resident. Share your holiday season stories, a dozen smiles, a few chuckles and a hug or two. I guarantee that not one of the presents wrapped under the tree could ever make you feel as warm and fulfilled as sharing some of your free time!

Micki Bare is a columnist for the Arkansas News Bureau and the Courier-Tribune in Asheboro, N.C., and author of the book, "Relative Expressions." She lives in Asheboro with her husband and three children. Her e-mail address is mickibare@inspiredscribe.com.