We have just made arrangemets to spend Christmas and New Years in Phoenix. We will leave home Christmas Day and come back Jan. 4th. Hoping the weather won't be too cold but will deal with it. Wondering if anyone has any ideas of what to do there during that period. We will of course golf a couple of times. We have been to Phoenix 4 times already so have done Sedona, Grand Canyon. Any ideas for Christmas dinner or where to spend New Years Eve. Any ideas welcome. Thanks

After much investigation I'm eating Thanksgiving Dinner at Michael's at the Citadel. check out their website for yummy menus complete with pictures. Lon's and Mary Elaine's were also considerations....

ttt

Carley,

Here is a list of things to do in PHX during the Christmas holidays.


http://phoenix.about.com/cs/events/a/festivals12_2.htm

Enjoy your stay!

Francie

How about dinner at the JW Marriott Camelback Inn in Scottsdale. We had Thanksgiving Dinner at the more casual golf club there and it was very good.

I would also suggest Camelback Inn, Hermosa Inn, Arizona Biltmore, Different Pointe of View at Pointe Tapatio(great views).....another with views is the Hyatt Compass Room downtown, excellent food/views.

If you want to get away from the scene in Scottsdale, you could try going to Santa's World at the racetrack next to Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort, and then go to dinner at Kai, the wonderful restaurant at Wild Horse Pass. Wild Horse Pass is a very nice property with a very different feel to it; the architecture, design, and art are all inspired by the Pima and Maricopa Indian tribes. They have outdoor firepits lit and the views out over the mountains are beautiful at sunset, from both the outdoor or indoor areas of the lobby bar and from Kai, which is elevated on 2nd floor. Kai is excellent for both service and food; I've been there half a dozen times and it has always been great. This resort has become my favorite place to stay in Phoenix. It is in south Phoenix, close to Chandler, a few miles off the hwy. There is nothing situated between it and the mountains.
Wild Horse Pass has info about Santa's World on it's website, under the "special offers" part of their website on the right side of the page.

Thanks for all the suggestions. Please keep them coming. We won't have any children with us.

Dinner at Roy's at JW Marriot Desert Ridge would be nice. Excellent food. There is also a Roy's on Scottsdale Road but did not eat there. We really enjoyed our meal at Roy's.

For something different see my other post about the Scottsdale Culinary Institute.

New Years Eve in downtown Tempe is to die for. It is a street party to end all New Years Eve street parties.8-)

Thanks everyone. I have contacted Different Pointe of View and they have a wonderful Christmas Brunch that last tll after 7pm so we could make that. Also, Roy's and Razz's have a New Years prixe fix dinner. Now, the street party in Tempe sounds like fun. Can you tell me a little bit more about it Jamalty? Thanks again everyone. How about things from the 25th thru till the 4th.

I want to know more about the street party in Tempe also. Is it totally college aged kids or will there be some older, some younger. WOndering if I can take my teenagers...

http://phoenix.about.com/cs/events/a/fiestabowl01.htm

Found it myself. USA Today calls the Fiesta Bowl Block Pary one of the Top Ten places in the country to ring in the New Year. Sounds good to me.

More info from the official website...
http://www.tostitosfiestabowl.com/

Blues Traveler is headlining the party.

You might want to bring a gas mask or stay indoors. My parents wintered there for several years until the smog forced them to sell. I once talked to the City Manager of Phoenix about the problem and he admitted that bad air quality was creating an exodus of retired people from the area.

But anyway have a nice time and cross your fingers that you will have no smog alert days where they advise you to stay indoors!

When we were there just this November one day was a "high risk" alert for people with respiratory problems to stay indoors or limit outdoor activity. The day seemed very clear to us no visible signs of smog or even a cloud in the sky. Odd.

Curt, even when you can't see the smog it can be dangerous to live there. Watching people cough is about the same as seeing smog.

The air is bad when we have an "inversion" of warm air holding down the "bad" air from moving out of the valley.....it comes and goes during the winter and is blamed on everything from cars to yard blowers...can't see that will be that much of a problem for New Years Eve at the Tempe block party. Crowds are admitted with tickets and it is pretty much controlled within a contained area.