Belated Happy Holidays in Tucson

Hope everyone had a happy holiday! Sorry for the lack of blog entries over the last few days; I am still nursing my terminally ill cat and I was taking care of last minute shopping and baking. Since I fell behind in my Tucson Days of Christmas I figured I'd just note a few more of the great things that Tucson offers around the holidays.

This past weekend was packed with activities leading up to December 25th. I enjoy heading over to La Encantada shopping center and checking out the "snowfall" that shoppers can find every Friday and Saturday night through the third weekend in December. "Snow machines" are set up to create a winter wonderland in the courtyard area at the bottom level of La Encantada. It really is a site, but it gets VERY busy so if you're not comfortable with crowds it might be something you should avoid. Keep this activity on you list for next year.

I visited the Reid Park Zoo and their holiday lights display last weekend and it was beautiful! Bright multi color lights are strung throughout the zoo, and visitors can sip hot chocolate and enjoy carolers or other entertainment while viewing the decorations. Most of the zoo animals aren't too active at this time of night but walking through the zoo on a cool evening surrounded by festive decorations can really put you in the Christmas mood!

One of my favorite activities at Christmas time is looking at local holiday light displays, and there are some great neighborhoods in Tucson that really go all out when it comes to holiday decorating. Winterhaven is probably the most popular neighborhood displays in Tucson, as every home in the community is decorated to the nines. Anyone that's lived here for a few years has trekked to this Central Tucson neighborhood to see the amazing light displays. Nights are designated for walking or driving through Winterhaven, with Thursday the 27th being the last night to drive through.

There are lots of other Tucson neighborhoods that really get into decorating for the holidays. One specific community in Rancho Vistoso (in Oro Valley) street after street of Christmas lights and decorations that draw a large crowd through the month of December. I've actually heard that the community's home owners associations requires residents to decorate for the holidays ( I still need to verify that).

It's really great to see so many Tucson residents decorate for the holidays. Just because we don't get really cold temperatures or snow doesn't mean we don't know how to celebrate the holidays!

And though the holiday was over today most people still had busy schedules. Many a friend spent last evening strategizing for today's post shopping event. My husband and I pulled up in the Target parking lot at 7:20 am and were amazed to see that how many people were already shopping. Crate and Barrel and Pottery Barn had lines out the door within 30 minutes of opening. Needless to say the search for bargains is still on.