Chances are your December is already half-filled with obligatory office parties, family engagements, and such, but just in case you have downtime, here are ideas for things you can do in Hartford (mostly) on the cheap (mostly) every day.

December 1

  • The Global Lens Film Series continues this month on Sundays at 2pm. Today’s film: The Parade. In Serbo-Croatian with English subtitles. This will be shown at the Wadsworth Atheneum. It is free, co-sponsored by the Hartford Public Library and Out Film CT.
  • Take a free Intro to Water Color class at StudioN111. First come, first serve — so contact Nina to reserve your space for the 2-3pm class. The studio is located on Pratt Street.

December 2

  • The Hartford Jazz Orchestra gives a free performance every Monday at the Arch Street Tavern. This begins at 8, typically ending just before 10pm. Good for those who don’t like the sleepy variety of jazz.

December 3

  • It’s Women’s Policy Day at the Legislative Office Building. From 8:30am-1pm, learn about the gender wage gap and how to affect policy change. This is free and open to the public.
  • Board of Education Workshop Meeting tonight at the Burns School, 195 Putnam Street. Topics to be discussed include Hartford Performs and Sheff V. O’Neill Phase III. 5:30-8pm.
  • Have an opinion on locating a hazardous waste transfer station at 94 Murphy Road? The public hearing begins at 6pm at the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, 79 Elm Street. This will be held in the third floor “Russell Room.” You will need to show picture ID to gain entrance to the building.
  • Also starting at 6pm: Islamic Art: Mirror of the Invisible World. The film features Islamic art from nine countries. Discussion will be facilitated by Aida Mansoor of the Muslim Coalition of Connecticut, and Janet Bauer, a Trinity College professor. This will be held in the Center for Contemporary Culture in the Hartford Public Library.
  • Filmmaker Lilly Rivlin will be honored with the Miller Reel Jewish Woman Filmmaker Award at the Wadsworth Atheneum. The reception begins at 6pm; the award will be presented at 7pm. A screening of Esther Broner: A Weave of Women follows. $15.

December 4

December 5

  • The Wadsworth Atheneum’s First Thursday party will feature admission to the 40th annual Festival of Trees & Traditions. There will be music, hands-on art, and a screening of Love Actually at 8pm. The event begins at 5pm and costs a little extra this time.
  • The Hartford Public Library in conjunction with Trinity College presents a discussion about Confronting Urban Legacy: Rediscovering Hartford and New England’s Forgotten Cities. Xiangming Chin, the book’s editor, will take part in the discussion along with Jack Dougherty, a professor at Trinity, and Louise Simmons, a professor at UConn. This will be held in the Hartford History Center, located on the top floor of the Hartford Public Library. Refreshments are served at 5:30pm, the talk begins at 6pm.
  • The Champagne and Chocolate Soiree is tonight! From 6-8pm, sip on champagne and/or eggnog, nosh on chocolates, and do some holiday shopping in the museum store of the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center. The first floor of the Stowe House will be festively decorated.
  • Metropolis screens at the Carriage House Theater (360 Farmington Ave) with music provided by students from the HARTT School of Music. This is the first in the silent film series at this venue. Tickets are $15.  If you can’t make it tonight, this happens on 12/6 and 12/7, same time and place.

December 6

  • Lunch & Learn is a free event starting at noon in the 100 Pearl Street Gallery. The Greater Hartford Arts Council says, “learn about how vintage tattoo “flash” and photography inspired local artist Francine Gintoff’s exploration of symbolic imagery through indigo and pink oil pastels.” Bring your own lunch. An RSVP is requested.
  • Stop by the Connecticut Historical Society from 5-7pm for An Evening of Chocolate & Shopping. Browse the gift shop for locally-produced and Connecticut-themed merchandise. There will be wine and colonial chocolate drinks.
  • The 100th anniversary St. Lucia Festival is at Emanuel Lutheran Church, 311 Capitol Avenue. Performances are at 5pm and 8pm.
  • Hartford Prints! will be hosting an origami workshop from 5-9pm. This is free but they ask that you RSVP.
  • The MOuTH begins at 7:30pm at the Mark Twain House & Museum. This is an evening of storytelling without use of notes. The theme: “I Fought The Law: Crossing Paths With Law Enforcement.” Profanity is allowed. There is a $5 entrance fee; free for storytellers. Contact HartfordMouth@gmail.com to be added to the list of readers.
  • Listen to the Hartford Independent Orchestra perform at the Charter Oak Cultural Center. Show starts at 8pm. $15.
  • The Kabbalah House will be hosting kirtan, a holistic arts and crafts fair, and the First Friday open mic. This is meant to be a family-event, all ages. The Kabbalah House is located at 1023 Albany Avenue. Check their site for updated times.
  • Violent Mae is having its album release party at Arch Street Tavern at 9:30pm. There will also be music by Modern Merchant and Elison Jackson. Tickets range from $8-10.

December 7

  • The Second Annual Winter Yoga Fest is today at Bikram Yoga Downtown Hartford, 915 Main Street. There are yoga classes at 8 and 10am; the party follows the later class. There will be vendors, health talks, and lunch. This should go on until 1:30pm.
  • Free admission to the museum galleries at Connecticut Historical Society today, from 9-5. There are children-centered holiday crafts there from 10-1; adults, you get the later shift of 2-4 for making holiday “poppers” and other crafts. There will be history blah blah blah CHOCOLATE from 10-3 in the Veeder Living Room. You can probably sniff out where this is when you enter the building.
  • Shop at the Winter Bloomers Market in the Dirt Salon, 50 Bartholomew Avenue. 10:30-5.

December 8

  • Hartford Catholic Worker will be hosting an art sale from 11am-4pm today. They are located at 18 and 26 Clark Street.
  • Day 2 of the Winter Bloomers Market at the Dirt Salon. 12-5.
  • Beijing Flickers is today’s movie in the Global Lens Film Series. This is in Mandarin with English subtitles. 2pm in the Center for Contemporary Culture at the Hartford Public Library. Free.
  • The Annual Festival of Lessons and Carols at the Trinity College Chapel is today! The Trinity College Choir, The Chapel Singers, and Brass Ensemble will be performing at 4pm and 7pm. This is free and open to the public.

December 9

  • The final meeting for the Capital City Parks Master Plan is tonight, 6-8, in the Samuel Valentin Arroyo Recreation Center (Pope Park Rec Center) in Pope Park.
  • Attend a free small business workshop on local, state, and federal taxes. This runs from 6-8:30pm at the Entrepreneurial Center, Butterworth Hall, 1265 Asylum Avenue.
  • City Council meets at 7pm in City Hall.

December 10

  • HartBeat Happy Hour: Eat, drink and mingle from 5-6pm; watch a first reading of comedy Born Fat by Jacques Lamarre. This is at the Carriage House Theater, 360 Farmington Avenue. Tickets are $10.
  • The CT Health Foodies are having a Happy, Healthy Holiday Party at ArtSpace from 7:15-9pm. A small donation is requested.

December 11

December 12

  • Drop by the Legislative Office Building this morning for Invisible No More: Creating No Wrong Door for Homeless and Displaced Youth in Connecticut, a statewide policy forum. 8:30am-12:30pm in Room 2E. Free. RSVP to laura@pschousing.org as space is limited.
  • The monthly Shulchan Ivrit begins at 6pm at the Moishe House in West Hartford. This is a free, relaxed setting to practice conversational Hebrew, regardless of your level of fluency. There will be snacks, of course. The Moishe House is at 157-159 South Quaker Lane.
  • Listen to a talk by Piper Kerman, the author of Orange is the New Black. Community Partners in Action, Harriet Beecher Stowe Center and Mark Twain House and Museum present this event, which will take place at Hartford Stage. Tickets are $25. The talk begins at 7pm.
  • HartBeat Ensemble says, “Share your experience, and visions for your neighborhood in an interactive theater piece about what it means to live in the West End.” Tickets are $5; free for West End residents. This begins at 7:30 tonight, as well as on 12/13 and 12/14. This will take place at 2pm on 12/15. The Carriage House Theater is located at 360 Farmington Avenue.

December 13

  • spark: harmony in contrast  This winter exhibition is open from 4-8pm in the Art Connection Studio at 56 Arbor Street. Expect painting, mixed media, fiber arts, photography, and more.
  • There’s another opening reception tonight, this time at the ArtWalk Gallery in the Hartford Public Library. David Borawski’s At the Start of the End of History will be in this space through January 17, 2014. Today’s reception is from 6-8pm.
  • The Liquid Lounge is an experience to have at least once, unless you get really claustrophobic. This is an adults-only party (21+) at the Connecticut Science Center, 6-10pm. The $15/18 ticket price gives you admission to the center, and all types of entertainment. The theme tonight is “Hollywood Holiday.” Visitors are encouraged to dress as their favorite holiday film character. Prizes, dancing, crafts, ice sculpting, music, and…drumroll…the Beat City Beauties, Hartford’s own burlesque troupe.
  • Read It & Sleep begins at 7pm in the Charter Oak Cultural Center. Wear the jammies and listen to Carmen Veal read Oh, the Places You’ll Go! There will be snacks and free copies of the book to take home. Kids should bring their parents. Free. (While you’re here, check out Shifting Territories in the gallery. This exhibit and one other closes today)

December 14

  • Second Saturdays = free admission to the Wadsworth Atheneum from 10am-1pm. They say, “Celebrate world holiday traditions at our annual Festival of Trees & Traditions. Learn about Kwanzaa, Winter Solstice, Hanukkah, and other holidays from our community partners.”
  • Asylum Hill Congregational Church will be holding an interfaith worship Service of Remembrance and Resolve today, on the one-year anniversary of the shootings in Newtown, Connecticut. 2-3pm.
  • The Hartford City Ballet presents The Nutcracker. Shows are at 2pm and 6pm. Ticket prices vary. The performance will take place in the Aetna Theater at the Wadsworth Atheneum.
  • The Hartford Gay Men’s Chorus performs (12/13 and 12/14) at 8pm: Join Hands and Celebrate! This will be held at the Unitarian Society of Hartford meetinghouse, 50 Bloomfield Avenue. $23.

December 15

December 16

  • Pop-Up Market on Bartholomew Ave with Dirt Salon, Hartford Denim Company, and Blaze and Bloom. 6-9pm.

December 17

December 18

  • For years Cinestudio screened Baraka around Christmas. Now, you can see Samsara from the balcony seats. This plays through 12/21. Screens at 7:30pm each night, with a 2:30 showing on 12/21. General admission: $9.

December 19

  • Hanging with Harold: Sea Tea Improv and others in the improv community perform longform improv. This is a drop-in learn-by-doing experience. 9-11pm at the Sea Tea Improv Studio, 75 Pratt Street, Suite 500. $5.

December 20

December 21

December 22

  • In Kazakh and Russian, with English subtitles, today’s Global Lens Film Series feature is Student, a take on Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment. This begins at 2pm in the Center for Contemporary Culture in the Hartford Public Library. Free.
  • Also beginning at 2pm, a free Intro to Acrylic class at StudioN111. Contact Nina to save you a space!

December 23

December 24

  • Last chance to catch It’s a Wonderful Life at Cinestudio. It screens at 2:30pm today. If today doesn’t work, go build a time machine and catch it on 12/22 or 12/23 at 2:30 or 7:30pm, both days. $9 general admission.
  • The Emanuel Lutheran Church has a Christmas Eve Candlelight Festival Service of Worship at 11pm. They are also hosting an earlier 5pm service.

December 25

December 26

  • If you haven’t seen it yet, stop by the gallery at Real Art Ways (2-9pm) to see Systemic Relation, works by Lourdes Correa-Carlo. Free (donation suggested). If you are a steady reader of Real Hartford (or just someone who gets out a lot), you’ll probably recognize the images in her exhibit.

December 27

December 28

December 29

  • The Fantastic World of Juan Orol is the last movie this month in the Global Lens Film Series. This is in Spanish with English subtitles. The free film begins at 2pm in the Hartford Public Library’s Center for Contemporary Culture.
  • Take an Intro to Oils class at StudioN111. The one-hour class begins at 2pm. Contact Nina to save your space; the class is free but there are not unlimited seats.

December 30

  • Only a few nights left to check out the Holiday Light Fantasia in Goodwin Park. 5-9pm. Admission varies by type of vehicle.

December 31

Is there anything not on this list that should be? Leave a comment below.