C.S.
Google the Wilton Sugar Cookie recipe and make some roll out Halloween Cookies. Cookie cutters are cheap, and you can re-use them year after year. I tint some vanilla frosting in all different colors for the kids to decorate with. Add some fun sprinkles or colored sugar and its an entire afternoon of fun.
You can BOO your neighbors. Basically make up little baskets, (think Dollar Store to make it cheap) and leave them with the BOO-GRAM poem on your neighbors doorstep, ring the doorbell and RUN! My kids love this. Our neighbors arent very fun, so we drive around and do it to our friends. The kids LOVE it. http://leladavidson.hubpages.com/hub/How-to-Start-the-Hal...
As far as Christmas ....
We do the cookie thing again.
Our kids only receive 2 gifts from Santa, and a small stocking. Santa needs to have enough gifts for all the children of the world, so my kids cannot be greedy. We do the plate of cookies for Santa, a glass of milk and a carrot for Rudolph.
Christmas Eve, when the kids are distracted, an "elf" will ring the door bell. 3 gifts are left on the porch. They are new Christmas PJs for the kids. Signaling its time for bed. And as a bonus, this means that Christmas morning everybody will be in fresh Pjs, perfect for pictures! :)
We give the kids each $10 to spend at Toys R Us to pick out a toy for Toys For Tots. As they get older, we hope to get them involved more in holiday charity.
Santa leaves boot tracks all over the house. Just some flour in a sifter, we shake over a pair of flip flops. The kids LOVE seeing the foot prints all over the house when they wake up on Christmas morning.
We host a huge family breakfast at our house Christmas morning. I love seeing the family together. We emphasize the season, not just presents.