Saturday, December 17, 2005

So... what is Christmas like in Arizona?

Luke thinks it only snows inside. We went to a nearby mall this week where they had a snow machine inside rigged to the rafters of the ceiling (and conveniently located near Dillards, too!) Every night at 7 p.m. it "snows" and Mrs. Claus leads the kiddos in a song and dance. Luke was so amazed at the snow falling from the ceiling. It was actually kind of a bubble-like flake and just absorbed into the strategicallly placed mat on the floor below. I guess someday we'll have a lot of explaining to do about why snow falls inside at the mall. Only in Arizona...

It is the week before Christmas, and we've only had to bust out the coats a handful of times so far. Nothing like enjoying 65 degree weather while Christmas shopping rather than sliding around in the ice and snow!

Because it is so warm here, people tend to go a bit overboard with the exterior holiday lights ... we're talking a Clark Griswold-type house on every block. Today I saw one that had at least 5 large inflatable critters to adorn their front yard, roof, driveway, etc. Hope they don't scare Santa away!

Our new subdivision has 3 lakes (manmade of course). Every year at Christmas they have a boat parade where people spread a bit of holiday cheer by throwing a string of lights (or 12) onto their paddle and pontoon boats and parade around the lake. Quite festive!

So that's what makes Christmas so special in Arizona!