Eat Out. Free Starbucks pastry and Ben & Jerry's ice cream.

Christmas came a little early today, with two major chains giving away their goodies for free.

Today marks Starbucks' annual free pastry day. Print off a coupon, and present it with the purchase of any "handcrafted" coffee at a participating Starbucks and get a pastry gratis.

As Starbucks happily points out, their goodies are now sans artificial flavors, dyes, transfats, and high-fructose corn syrup, so you can enjoy a treat guilt free (pretty much).

Free pastry day ends at 10:30 a.m., so go get your free breakfast/brunch ASAP.

Also serving up free treats is the hormone-free ice cream of Ben & Jerry's. Between the hours of 12-8 p.m. people can visit any Ben & Jerry's to get a free scoop of ice cream, but lines get pretty long for this one, so maybe bring a magazine. Their new flavors of Maple Blondie, Peanut Brittle, and Milk & Cookies sound pretty enticing.

A free scoop of ice cream? Yes, please.

-- Lauren Williams