An Old West Christmas in Phoenix, Arizona

To celebrate Christmas in Phoenix you have to be creative. There's no snow, of course. And besides that all the freeways are probably closed. You have to find alternative routes and alternative ideas. But it can be done.

There are several beautiful mountain cities within a few hours' drive that offer the traditional Christmas setting, with snow and snowmen and hills to slide down and places to go where you have to wear boots and mittens; cities like Flagstaff and Payson and Prescott and Sedona and Jerome all usually have snow and are all lovely cities. But those who don't have the time or energy or money or snow tires to get into the mountains have to find something in town, in Phoenix.

1. The place to start is the Phoenix Zoo. Why? Because of Zoo Lights. It is the best place to see holiday lights. The Phoenix Zoo spends half the year putting up Christmas lights throughout the zoo, bringing in new and improved exhibits, finding spectacular ways to use their paths and trees and lakes and streams to hang lights, weld metal into animals, and put music and shows to it all. The other half of the year is spent taking them down so that new ones can be put up the next year. Last year they brought in several palm tree lights, ten-foot tall decorations that stand out from a mile away. They look like the barber shop's pole, but green and red and bigger and brighter. What will they have this year?

Each year, on the path by the monkeys and gorillas, they have a light show with music that plays every fifteen minutes or so. The lights in the trees are green, swinging monkeys, and lights at the top of tall trees create falling snow and shapes on the ground for kids to play in. It is better than real snow!

The carousel plays soft music, kids run and skip and climb in the tree house, it is usually just cold enough to put some frost on your breath, and even under the bridge that leads into the zoo are Christmas-light turtles and ducks. You can get hot chocolate or eggnog. It is a great way to get into the Christmas spirit.

2. Once you've experienced the Zoo Lights and have the Christmas spirit within you, you might be inspired to do some shopping of your own, maybe create some of that same ambiance in your own house. The best place to do so is Old Town Scottsdale. For starters, they have an excellent shop where you can do your best to make your own Christmas attraction inside. Kris Kringle's Collectibles is that shop. Located at 5th Avenue (7116 E.; 480.949.5933), it is in the heart of Old Town Scottsdale. They have decorations so good that they stay open year round. After you've picked some things out, you can stroll down 5th Ave and Main Street under Old Town's own Christmas decorations. There are restaurants and cafes, great shopping, it's all outdoors, and at the east end of Main Street is a giant, lighted tree and behind that is a small pathway and park sure to be decorated as well, perfect for a cool holiday stroll.

3. After you've gathered all of your Christmas spirit, it is time to experience Christmas the real, Phoenix, Old West way. Head up to 1939 W. Cheryl Road and stop in on Rawhide at Wild Horse Pass. Nothing says Happy Holidays in Phoenix like a Cowboy Christmas at Rawhide. Built with the spirit of the Old West, Rawhide is Arizona's largest western-themed attraction. During the year you can pan for gold, eat rattlesnake, or take a hayride. But at Christmastime, the place is lit up with 150,000 lights, including a 100-foot tall "tree of lights." Aside from a wonderful western menu, you can experience falling snow on their dusty Main Street, roast marshmallows over a town fire, and enjoy live holiday music, a holiday Six Gun Theater Show, Santa's stable-animals in the petting ranch-and even Santa Claus himself. And best of all is that admission is free. Dinner isn't.

Each city in the Phoenix Valley has its own holiday celebration and attraction, with holiday lights and music, tree lightings, gingerbread house contents, parades, boat parades (in Tempe), the Electric Light Parade in Phoenix, hay wagon rides, and so on. Check the newspapers or Internet for details on those. But the three things mentioned above are the best of the best.