Thanksgiving to New Year's in Sedona

Spend the holiday weeks outdoors by day and around the fire table by night. Afternoons run in the upper 50s to upper 60s, and rain or snow falls on only three or four days in an average November or December, by NOAA's 1991-2020 normals. Nights are cold and clear, which is what makes a soak in the tubs and a seat by the fire table so good after dinner.

The season has a calendar worth planning a trip around. Tlaquepaque, the arts village on State Route 179, lights a 26-foot Christmas tree and welcomes Santa in early December, then lines its courtyards with luminarias at its Holiday Sweet Stroll on December 19. The Polar Express rolls out of Williams on select nights from early November into January. Flagstaff has the snow, the ski runs at Arizona Snowbowl and a New Year's Eve tradition that lowers a pinecone from a hotel balcony.

The other draw is space. A holiday week puts a lot of people in one place for a lot of meals, and a house handles that better than a row of hotel rooms. Sedona Pickler sleeps eight in four bedrooms, has a full kitchen and a round dining table for the big dinners, and has a private indoor pickleball court in its own building on the property, heated and lit for any hour. Paddles and balls are provided; bring court shoes.

Plan your days around the light. On Thanksgiving the sun rises at 7:12 a.m. and sets at 5:17 p.m., and from late November to mid-December the earliest sunsets of the year come at 5:16. Hike and sightsee from mid-morning to mid-afternoon, then come home for the court, the kitchen and the deck. Our guides to Sedona in November, Sedona in December and Sedona in January cover each month on its own.

Start with Thanksgiving on Thursday, November 26, when the Sedona Turkey Trot 5K sets off from Posse Grounds Park at 9 a.m., and spend the long weekend on the sights, the trains and the court.

The first weekend of December is the fullest of the season. On Friday, December 4, Tlaquepaque lights its tree and Santa arrives, and Hanukkah begins at sundown. On Saturday, December 5, Old Town Cottonwood holds its Chocolate Walk and downtown Flagstaff holds Winter Wonderland, each with a tree lighting, and on Sunday, December 6, Tlaquepaque lights its menorah.

Christmas week starts on Saturday, December 19, when Tlaquepaque lines the village with luminarias at its Holiday Sweet Stroll, and Riordan Mansion in Flagstaff follows with Christmas Twilight Tours from December 20 to 23. Christmas Day falls on a Friday this year, which makes a three-day weekend, and New Year's Day does the same a week later, with the Great Pinecone Drop in Flagstaff on New Year's Eve and First Day Hikes at the state parks expected on January 1.

The table below has the holiday hours for the parks, the grocery stores and the train. Then pick your arrival and departure dates in the calendar and the events inside your stay will light up. For the rest of the year, our Sedona events guide for 2026 and 2027 covers festivals, races and film nights beyond the holidays.

Drive in and you will have the car you need all week. West Sedona is about two hours from the Phoenix area and about 55 minutes from Flagstaff by way of Oak Creek Canyon. Arrive Tuesday if you can: shop Wednesday morning, bake the pies that night, and Thursday is all cooking. Check-in is after 4 p.m. and checkout is before 10 a.m.

The driveway holds four cars and there is no street parking, so two or three cars carry a group of eight and the gear. Pack warm layers, court shoes for everyone, swimsuits for the soaking tubs and a cooler for anything you bring from home.

If you fly, Phoenix Sky Harbor is the big airport. Rent a car or a minivan there for the two-hour drive, since you will want it for Flagstaff, Williams and the Grand Canyon. Groome Transportation also runs a shuttle from Sky Harbor to a West Sedona stop at the Aiden by Best Western on 89A. Our guide to getting to Sedona compares the airports and the drive, and our getting around guide covers parking, passes and the free Sedona Shuttle.

A few booking notes. Guests must be 25 or older to book, the house takes up to eight guests, and there are no pets, parties or events, and no smoking. Long stays are welcome too, including a month or more from Thanksgiving through New Year's; our snowbird guide covers a longer winter here.

Gather the whole family under one roof for the week. Bedroom one has a king bed and its own bath, the natural pick for the grandparents or for whoever is doing the cooking. Bedroom two has a second king, bedroom three has a queen, and the bunk game room has twin-over-twin bunks, a foosball table and a TV. That adds up to five beds and two baths on a single level, with no stairs between the bedrooms and the kitchen.

The bunk game room tends to become the cousins' headquarters. A family from Kentucky wrote that their kids loved movie night in the bunkroom while the adults watched their own shows in the living room.

Plan the sleeping before anyone packs. Three generations of one family fit, and so do two families of four, as long as two of the kids are happy on the bunks. A group of friends fits just as well: three couples take the king and queen rooms and two friends share the bunks. The room planner below lets you type a name into each bed and paste the plan into the group chat, so nobody argues about rooms in the driveway.

The living room has a big sectional and a picture window onto the high desert, and the covered deck has a pergola, a gas fire table and two freestanding soaking tubs. There is a washer and dryer for muddy hiking clothes and for the pajamas everyone will want clean for the Polar Express, Wi-Fi for anyone checking in with work, and board games for the evenings. For a longer look at hosting three generations under one roof, see our guide to a family reunion in Sedona.

“The house was so comfortable for all 8 of us.”

Erin, a guest in July 2026

Cook the whole feast at the house. The kitchen has an oven and stove, a dishwasher, a microwave, a refrigerator with a freezer, a coffee maker with coffee, a toaster, a blender, a baking sheet, wine glasses and cooking basics like pots and pans. Outside there is a BBQ grill with utensils, which takes pressure off the oven on the big day. Pick up a roasting pan and a meat thermometer with the groceries.

Size the bird to the group. The USDA's rule of thumb is a pound of turkey per person, so a 12- to 14-pound turkey feeds eight with leftovers for Friday sandwiches. Buy it fresh a day or two before Thanksgiving, or reserve one at Natural Grocers, which takes turkey reservations. Unstuffed, a bird that size roasts for about 3 to 3 3/4 hours at 325 degrees. It is done when a thermometer reads 165 degrees in the thickest part of the breast and the innermost part of the thigh and wing, and it should stand for 20 minutes before carving, which is exactly when the oven is free for the stuffing and the rolls. Bake the stuffing in a casserole dish rather than inside the bird, since it cooks more evenly that way.

A few small moves help in a kitchen you don't know yet. Tuck the wing tips under the bird for more even cooking, and if your new roasting pan has no lid, tent the turkey with heavy-duty foil for the first hour or so to keep it moist and the oven clean. If the turkey comes with a pop-up timer, check the thigh, wing and breast with the thermometer anyway.

Use the grill and the stovetop to spread the work. Grill the vegetables or a second main while the turkey has the oven, keep the potatoes and gravy on the stove, and bake the pies on Wednesday night. Give everyone a job: the kids set the round table, a teenager runs the dishwasher between courses, and the person who cooked does not wash a single pan.

The timeline below works backward from a 4 p.m. dinner.

Do the big shop on Wednesday at the three grocery stores along 89A in West Sedona; between them they cover a full holiday menu.

Whole Foods Market Sedona, at 1420 West State Route 89A, is open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily and sells its holiday meals as catering for pickup in the store. Natural Grocers, at 1915 West State Route 89A, opens at 8:27 a.m. Monday through Saturday and at 8:57 a.m. on Sunday, and takes turkey reservations. Safeway, at 2300 West Highway 89A, is open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, with a service deli, a bakery, a fresh meat and seafood counter and a pharmacy. Holiday hours are in the table in the dates chapter.

Make one person the list keeper and split the shopping by store: one car to Safeway for the produce, the baking supplies and the meat counter, another to Whole Foods for cheeses and anything pre-ordered, and a stop at Natural Grocers if you reserved the turkey there. The list below covers a dinner for eight, with Friday leftovers and breakfasts for the long weekend, and your ticks stay in this browser. The kitchen already has coffee, so add beans only if the family has a favorite, and if the oven is spoken for, Safeway's bakery is the easy answer for rolls and pies.

Have the dinner without the cooking if you would rather. The simplest way is a ready-made meal. Whole Foods Market's Thanksgiving menus include a Classic Thanksgiving Dinner, a Small Gathering meal and vegan and vegetarian feasts, sold as catering for pickup at the Sedona store on 89A. Availability is set by ZIP code, so choose the Sedona store when you order, and reserve a pickup time early. Warm it in the house oven following the store's instructions.

For a table out, two Sedona resorts have posted their 2026 Thanksgiving dinners. L'Auberge de Sedona serves Thanksgiving at Cress on Oak Creek on Thursday, November 26, from 11 a.m.: a daytime buffet at $150 for adults and $75 for children, and a family-style dinner later in the day at $140 for adults and $50 for children. Reservations are highly recommended and are made through OpenTable, and the hotel's general line is 855-905-5745. Enchantment Resort's Thanksgiving Day Buffet runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in its Agave Ballroom and is open to the public as well as to resort guests. Reservations are required, and the public books through the Eventbrite link on the resort's Thanksgiving page.

A midday meal out leaves the evening free, and that is our pick for a family: eat at noon, walk off the pie on a short trail, and be home for the fire table by sunset. Our guides to the best restaurants in Sedona and to special-occasion dining cover more tables for the rest of the week, and if you eat out on Thursday, Friday is a good night to cook something simple together at the house.

Run or walk a morning 5K before the big meal. The Sedona Turkey Trot, hosted by Run Sedona, starts and finishes at Posse Grounds Park, about five minutes from the house, at 9 a.m. on Thanksgiving morning, as it did on Thanksgiving last year. Registration is $40 for the 5K and $20 for the Kids 13 and Under 5K, so the whole family can sign up together. Every finisher gets a medal and a shirt, the fastest runners compete for a $300 cash purse, and a family can be back at the house by mid-morning with time to get the turkey in.

If you would rather walk than race, Red Rock State Park opens on Thanksgiving morning and leads a guided nature hike every day at 10 a.m. Entry is $10 for adults, $5 for youth 7 to 13 and free for children 6 and under. A guided walk suits a mixed group of grandparents and kids, since someone else sets the pace, and you will be home in time for the cooking.

Slide Rock State Park and Dead Horse Ranch State Park in Cottonwood also open on Thanksgiving morning; their holiday hours are in the table in the dates chapter. After the race or the walk, the soaking tubs on the deck are a fine place to warm up while the oven does its work.

For more walks near the house, our guide to easy, family-friendly hikes lists short trails with good footing, and most fit between breakfast and the start of the cooking.

With the big meal behind you, Friday to Sunday is for sightseeing.

Friday suits the classic Sedona sights. The Chapel of the Holy Cross is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with last entry at 4:45, and Sedona Shuttle Connect, the city's on-demand ride, runs from West Sedona to the Mystic Trailhead stop for the chapel from 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., for $2 a ride or $1 for riders 60 and over; book it in the TransLoc app or at 928-203-5152. In the afternoon, drive to Montezuma Castle and Montezuma Well, open from 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.; the Castle gate, a mile from the visitor center, closes at 4:45, so arrive by mid-afternoon. Tuzigoot National Monument keeps the same hours. Our guides to the Chapel of the Holy Cross and Montezuma Castle cover both visits.

Saturday is parade day in Williams, about 1 hour 20 minutes from the house. Santaland is open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and the town's Christmas parade, Cruising Into Christmas, rolls at 6:30 p.m. on November 28, followed by the tree lighting and photos with Santa and Mrs. Claus. The 5:30 Polar Express overlaps the 6:30 parade, so pick one per trip: the parade on Saturday, or the train on Friday or Sunday.

Sunday morning is for the house. Sleep in, make a leftover breakfast, and run a family tournament on the indoor court, which has its own chapter below. If the group wants one more hike, the free Sedona Shuttle runs to five trailheads Thursday through Sunday.

Tlaquepaque, the arts village on State Route 179, makes an easy afternoon on any day of the weekend, with galleries, shops and fountain courtyards to wander and a good start on the holiday shopping. Our Tlaquepaque guide covers the village.

1. Friday morningThe Chapel of the Holy Cross
2. Friday afternoonMontezuma Castle and Montezuma Well
3. SaturdaySantaland in Williams from 11 a.m., the parade at 6:30 p.m.
4. Sunday morningLeftover breakfast and the family tournament
5. Sunday eveningThe 5:30 p.m. Polar Express from Williams

“The drive into town for restaurants and shopping was an easy 10-15 minute drive.”

Karen from Mesa, Arizona, August 2026

Play a family tournament on the private indoor court, the part of a holiday week every age group shares. The court has its own building on the property, heated and lit, so you can play at 7 a.m. before the turkey goes in or at 9 p.m. after the pie. Paddles and balls are provided, and everyone needs a pair of court shoes.

A round-robin is the easiest way to give eight people of different ages a fair afternoon. Number the players 1 to 8 and play seven short rounds of doubles with a new partner every round, so grandpa partners with the eleven-year-old once and with the college sophomore once. Our guide to running a round-robin for 8 players has a checked rotation table you can keep on a phone or a clipboard. With one court, play the two games of each round back to back while the other four rest, keep score and refill the cocoa.

Keep the games short and the rules friendly. Play to 11, or set a timer for 8 to 10 minutes and let whoever is ahead take the game. Let the youngest players serve from a step inside the baseline, and agree before the first serve that the prize is bragging rights and the last slice of pie. New players pick up the basics in a few minutes, and our rules page and scoring cheat sheet cover what they need. The one shot worth teaching early is the dink, a soft shot that drops into the kitchen, the no-volley zone next to the net. It keeps rallies going and evens out the power gap between a teenager and a grandparent.

A group of eight friends gets the same seven rounds with a little more trash talk; play for the right to skip dish duty. Guests' reviews keep coming back to the court, and a group from North Carolina wrote that they couldn't get enough of it. On a holiday week the court fills the short evenings, and the tournament final can run as late as you like.

“For our family, the highlight was the indoor air conditioned pickleball court. Our family had so much fun being able to play whenever we wanted to.”

Karen from Mesa, Arizona, August 2026

Start the holiday season at Tlaquepaque Arts & Shopping Village on Friday, December 4, 2026, when the village lights its tree at Tlaquepaque North from 5 to 6:30 p.m. The village co-sponsors the evening with the Sedona Chamber of Commerce & Tourism Bureau, and the program has a 26-foot Christmas tree, Santa's arrival, activities for children, free hot chocolate and local performers. Last year, school carolers and an a cappella group sang and a percussion group led a drumming countdown, with cookies, face painting and gift bags for the children.

Leave the house by 3:30 to see a gallery or two, then find a spot near the tree by 5. That Friday is also the first Friday of the month, when galleries in Tlaquepaque, Hozho, Uptown and West Sedona hold openings and artist receptions, roughly from 4 to 7 p.m., with hours varying by gallery. Our Sedona art galleries guide has a walking route.

The Sedona Arts Center, at 15 Art Barn Road in Uptown and about 10 to 15 minutes from the house, opens its Holiday Artists Market the same afternoon, with up to 40 regional artists selling painting, ceramics, jewelry, fiber, glass and woodwork from December 4 to 6. Its free opening reception, from 4 to 6 p.m. during Celebrate Sedona in the Arts Center's upper parking lot, has music, food trucks, wine and beer, which makes it an easy first stop for a group of friends before the lighting. The market stays open through Sunday, a good weekend for gifts from regional artists.

Hanukkah begins at sundown that same Friday and ends at nightfall on Saturday, December 12. Tlaquepaque celebrates with a Lighting of the Menorah on Sunday, December 6, the third night, from 5 to 6:30 p.m. on the Patio del Norte. In 2025 the village hosted its lighting with Chabad of Sedona.

After the lighting, stay to browse the shops, or head home for a pot of chili and a game of foosball in the bunk room.

Spend the Saturday before Christmas at Tlaquepaque's Holiday Sweet Stroll on December 19, from 3 to 7 p.m. throughout the village. This year the village lights its luminarias at the Sweet Stroll, so that's the night to plan around. At 5 p.m. everyone is invited to help light them: small candles set in sand inside paper bags along the paths and fountains.

The stroll is built for families. Santa is there, along with strolling Dickens-era carolers and the Grinch. Shops and galleries stay open late with cookies and truffles, hot spiced cider, eggnog, hot chocolate and seasonal liqueurs, and many offer holiday discounts. Children get free face painting and ornament painting, and no admission price is listed.

Arrive by about 4 p.m. to stroll the shops in daylight, have a cider, and be in a courtyard when the lighting begins at 5. Sunset on December 19 is at 5:19, so the candles come into their own as the sky darkens. Bring gloves that work with a phone screen for photos, and stay after the lighting, when the paths glow and the shops stay open until 7. Tlaquepaque is at 336 State Route 179, about 10 to 15 minutes from the house, and the village answers questions at (928) 282-4838.

Our guide to Tlaquepaque's luminaria tradition has more on the village and on planning an evening there. More lights wait in Cottonwood and Flagstaff, covered in the next chapter.

Go out for lights on Saturday, December 5, and pick a direction.

Southwest, Old Town Cottonwood, about 25 to 30 minutes from the house, holds its 33rd Old Town Chocolate Walk from 3 to 7 p.m. Check in at the Civic Center, the Cottonwood Community Club House, then sample chocolates and holiday treats at Old Town shops, tasting rooms and restaurants. Old Town lights its tree at 5:30 p.m. with carolers and Christmas music. Refund requests for walk tickets are due by November 27. Friends can add the separate VIP Wine & Chocolate Experience on the Friday, which is limited to 100 tickets. Jerome, about 40 to 45 minutes from the house on the hill above Cottonwood, holds its Artwalk on the first Saturday of every month from 5 to 8 p.m., so expect one that same evening. Our guides to Old Town Cottonwood, a Jerome day trip and the Verde Valley wineries cover the towns and their tasting rooms.

North, downtown Flagstaff holds Winter Wonderland and its tree lighting in Heritage Square from 2:30 to 7 p.m. the same Saturday, with live music, games, crafts and free hot cocoa. Santa helps light the tree around 6:15 p.m.

Two more Flagstaff stops keep the lights going all season. Little America Hotel's Holiday of Lights, about an hour from the house, runs from November through January. Riordan Mansion State Historic Park is decorated in turn-of-the-century style from December 1 to January 6, and from December 20 to 23, 2026, it holds Christmas Twilight Tours from 5 to 6 p.m. by the glow of the mansion's original 1904 fixtures and their Edison-style bulbs. The same evenings bring a luminaria walk on the grounds, with hot cider in the visitor center for the $5 park admission, and Santa strolls the grounds on Sunday, December 20, from 4 to 6 p.m. Guided tours are $18 for adults and $12 for youth 7 to 13, with children 6 and under free, and reservations are recommended. In winter the daytime tours run on the hour from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and a guided tour reservation covers the park entrance fee, so a family can tour the mansion by day and stay for the luminarias at dusk. Closer to the house, Fort Verde State Historic Park in Camp Verde, about 35 to 40 minutes away, displayed antique Christmas decor last year.

Spend a day in real snow up the hill. Sedona itself gets a light dusting, about an inch in an average December and a little more in January, and it seldom stays on the ground in town; on those mornings the red rocks carry a little snow until the sun reaches them, which is worth an early drive with a camera. Flagstaff sits at 7,000 feet and averages more than 100 inches of snow a year.

Buy Flagstaff Snow Park tickets online the night before and sign the electronic waiver at the same time; the park, at Fort Tuthill County Park, is the place for snow tubing. Arizona Nordic Village has 25 miles of groomed cross-country trails and 10 miles of snowshoe trails, rents skis, snowshoes and pulk sleds, sells clothing and gear at its lodge if someone forgets gloves, and keeps a small snowplay area by its main parking lot for building snowmen. Off Highway 180, the Walker Lake winter parking area is paved, has a restroom and is a good spot for snowplay.

For skiers, Arizona Snowbowl's scheduled opening day for the 2026-27 season is Friday, November 20, with early-season terrain set by the snow; in 2025 it opened a day early with the Arizona Gondola and the advanced runs. Kids 12 and under ski free with Snowbowl's Power Kids Pass. Snowbowl is about 1 hour 20 minutes from the house, and sledding is not allowed at the ski area or along Snowbowl Road, so save the snowplay for the snow park. A group of friends can split the day, with skiers at Snowbowl and snowshoers at the Nordic Village, and meet in town for lunch.

Head back down the canyon mid-afternoon and you will be home for hot showers and cocoa at the fire table by sunset. Our Flagstaff day trip guide covers the town's other sights, and our guide to rainy and snowy days has ideas for staying close to the house.

Ride the Polar Express, the big night of the season for families with young children. The Grand Canyon Railway runs it from the Williams depot, directly behind the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel, on select nights from Friday, November 6, 2026, through Sunday, January 3, 2027, with departures at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m., Arizona time. The round trip takes about 90 minutes, with hot chocolate and a cookie, the story read aloud and Santa at the North Pole. Guests are encouraged to wear their holiday pajamas, and the railway suggests bringing your own copy of the book to read along.

Fares are set by the night in three tiers, per person and before tax, as shown in the table below. Thanksgiving week has trains on Sunday, Monday and Wednesday before the holiday and on Friday, Saturday and Sunday after it, but not on Tuesday, November 24, or Thanksgiving Day. Christmas week has a train every night from December 18 to 24 and again from December 26 to 30. There is no train on Christmas Day, New Year's Eve or New Year's Day, and the last runs are Saturday, January 2, and Sunday, January 3.

Book through the railway's Polar Express page or by phone at 1-888-848-3511; the railway's address is 233 N. Grand Canyon Blvd. in Williams. Boarding starts 15 minutes before the train leaves, and parking is free around the depot. Before boarding there are photos with Mr. Claus and story time with Mrs. Claus. There is one class of service, 1923 Harriman-style Pullman cars with bench seats for two. Families with food allergies are welcome to bring their own treats. For a special occasion, the railway also offers a private-charter Ultimate Polar Express Experience in first-class cars.

From the house it's an easy evening: drive up after lunch, ride the train, and sleep in your own beds. Bring a warm layer to wear over the pajamas and a blanket for the drive home.

Show the family the Grand Canyon on a holiday week. The South Rim is open every day of the year, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day included, and most services run all year. Grand Canyon Village is about 2 hours 15 minutes from the house, and the park entrance fee is good for seven days.

Winter days are short, so the plan is simple: leave early, see the rim in the middle of the day, and drive home in the afternoon. Leave the house by 7:30, reach the rim before 10, and give yourselves four hours there before starting back. A cooler with sandwiches made from holiday leftovers saves time hunting for lunch, and a thermos of coffee keeps the drivers happy.

Bring a warm layer and boots with good grip, plus spare socks in the car. The winter sun stays low in the sky all day, which gives long shadows and good light for family photos along the rim.

For an indoor stop, paintings from the 2026 Grand Canyon Celebration of Art, made along the South Rim in late September, are on sale at Kolb Studio through March 31, 2027, so the show can be seen all winter. The park entrance fee covers seven days, so if the canyon wins everyone over, a second visit later in the week costs nothing more at the gate.

Our Grand Canyon day trip guide covers the routes, viewpoints and timing in more detail. If not everyone wants four and a half hours in the car, split up: the canyon crew leaves at 7:30, everyone else takes the court and the trails near the house, and the whole group meets again for dinner and a long soak.

Hike the red rocks in cool, clear air. The trick is fitting the walk into the light: in late December the sun rises at about 7:30 a.m. and sets at about 5:20 p.m., so start between 9 and 10, once the frost is off, and plan to be back at the car by 3:30.

The free Sedona Shuttle is the easiest way to a trailhead. It runs Thursday through Sunday all year to the Mescal, Dry Creek Vista, Soldier Pass, Cathedral Rock and Little Horse trailheads, roughly from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. depending on the line, and the stop at the high school park-and-ride is about a mile from the house. Last holiday season the city ran it every day from December 18 to January 4, except Christmas Day.

For a guided walk, Red Rock State Park leads a nature hike every day at 10 a.m. and bird walks on Wednesdays and Saturdays, at 9 a.m. in December. The park, at 4050 Red Rock Loop Road, is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. with last entry at 4:30, and its visitor center from 9 to 4:30. Dead Horse Ranch State Park in Cottonwood, about 30 minutes away, keeps fall and winter day-use hours from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and charges $20 per vehicle for two to four people. Slide Rock State Park keeps winter hours from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with entry closing at 4, and charges $20 per vehicle for up to four people plus $5 for each extra person. Its Pendley Homestead Trail is paved and level, easy for strollers and anyone who wants a gentle walk.

Bring a warm layer for the start and a lighter one for the sunny stretches. After a snowy night, slip-on traction cleats keep shaded stretches of trail comfortable.

Friends who would rather trade a hike for a massage have plenty of choice; our spas and wellness guide covers Sedona's day spas and destination spas, and the good appointments book ahead. For the keen hikers, our guide to the best hikes in Sedona covers the longer trails.

Spend the long evenings on the deck. By 5:30 the sky is dark, and the covered deck becomes the gathering spot: a pergola overhead, a gas fire table in the middle, and two freestanding soaking tubs with plenty of hot water. A soak after a day in the snow or on the trail, then a seat at the fire table with a mug of cocoa, is a routine that comes up in review after review.

Bring swimsuits, and robes or a warm layer for the few steps between the tubs and the door. Pour the cocoa before you get in, and keep the towels inside so they are warm when you come back.

Clear winter nights are good for the sky, too. The Geminid meteor shower, usually the strongest of the year, peaks on the night of December 13 to 14, 2026, with the moon only 15 percent lit, which makes this a very good year to watch. The Quadrantids follow, with about 25 meteors an hour under dark skies at a short peak in the hours before dawn on January 4, 2027. Turn off the deck lights and give your eyes 20 minutes to adjust. Our stargazing guide has more on Sedona's night sky.

Inside, the board games come out at the round table, the court is lit and heated for a late game, and nobody has to drive anywhere.

“After hiking or pickleball, the outdoor tubs and firepit remain big hits.”

Hannah from La Grange, Kentucky, May 2026

Start Christmas week on Saturday, December 19, with the luminarias at Tlaquepaque's Holiday Sweet Stroll, where the shops and galleries stay open until 7 with holiday discounts, an easy place to finish the gift list. A stay from that Saturday through Sunday, December 27, covers the whole holiday: the lights, the trains and a quiet day at the house.

Fill the first days with outings. Riordan Mansion's Christmas Twilight Tours in Flagstaff run from December 20 to 23, a Polar Express evening in Williams fits early in the week, and a Grand Canyon day works well midweek.

Run errands early on Christmas Eve, and finish the Christmas dinner shopping by December 23 if you can; the holiday hours table in the dates chapter has the times. A morning at Red Rock State Park, with its 10 a.m. guided nature hike, gets everyone outside before the afternoon.

Spend Christmas Eve afternoon at the house. Wrap presents while the kids run a foosball tournament in the bunk room, light the fire table at the 5:21 sunset, and keep dinner simple so the big meal can wait for Friday. If the family likes a Christmas Eve tradition, a short evening walk under the stars, a soak in the tubs and one chapter of a holiday story read aloud by the fire table make a good one.

On Christmas Day the house is the plan, and the next chapter has ours. Everything picks back up on the 26th, when the parks reopen and the last week of the holidays begins.

Christmas Day is a day at the house, with a match on the court and dinner at the round table. Here is how we would spend Friday, December 25, with a family of eight. For an outing, the Grand Canyon's South Rim is open every day of the year.

The morning starts slow. The sun comes up at 7:33, the coffee maker is ready, and there is room by the sectional for the stockings and presents. After presents, a big breakfast at the round table: a breakfast casserole made on Christmas Eve, bacon on the baking sheet, and a bowl of fruit.

Late morning is for the court. A Christmas doubles match, kids against parents, or a short round-robin with any new paddles Santa brought, gets everyone moving while dinner waits in the refrigerator. The court is heated, so nobody needs more than a sweatshirt, and the youngest players can have the whole building to themselves for an hour.

After lunch, get outside for a while. A walk before the light goes, or a drive along the Red Rock Scenic Byway on State Route 179, makes room for dinner and gives everyone a look at the red rocks in the low winter sun.

You shopped on the 23rd, so the afternoon is for cooking: a ham or a roast in the oven, potatoes and greens on the stove, and something on the grill if the cook likes. The kids set the table, the teenagers run the music, and someone keeps the cocoa coming.

At sunset, at 5:22, the soaking tubs fill and the fire table goes on. Dinner is at 6 at the round table under the chandelier, and the last game of cards runs as late as anyone wants.

1. 7:33 a.m.Sunrise, coffee and stockings
2. 9 a.m.Presents and a big breakfast at the round table
3. 11 a.m.Kids against parents on the indoor court
4. 1 p.m.Leftover sandwiches and a walk or a drive
5. 3 p.m.Dinner goes into the oven
6. 5:22 p.m.Sunset, the soaking tubs and the fire table
7. 6 p.m.Christmas dinner at the round table
8. 8 p.m.A movie, a game of cards and an early night for the little ones

“The game room with bunkbeds was a dream come true for our kids and our family had a blast playing pickleball on the indoor court.”

Victoria from Corona, California, June 2026

Ring in the new year twice: once up the hill at noon and again at the house that night. Flagstaff's Great Pinecone Drop at the Weatherford Hotel, 23 N. Leroux Street, has been a tradition since 1999, the hotel's 100th year. On December 31, 2026, the pinecone drops at noon, 10 p.m. and midnight, lowered from the hotel's third-floor balcony and followed by a brief fireworks display. The noon drop is made for younger kids, with a free Noon Year's Eve in Heritage Square from 10 a.m. to noon run by the Downtown Business Alliance.

Our pick for families: drive up to Flagstaff in the morning, watch the noon drop, have lunch downtown, and be back at the house by mid-afternoon. That leaves the evening for the fire table, the soaking tubs and a midnight countdown on the indoor court with paddles raised at 12.

A group of friends can stay up for the late drops instead. The street celebration is free, while the Weatherford Hotel itself is 21 and over that night, with a ticketed party in its third-floor Zane Grey Ballroom, which has no elevator. Williams has a newer tradition: for its second annual New Year's Eve Car Drop, the town lowers a restored 1928 Ford Model A from above its vintage gas station at 200 Railroad Avenue at midnight, with a party from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. Williams is about 1 hour 20 minutes from the house.

At the house, the night is easy to make special. Set out a cheese board on the round table, light the fire table, and let the younger kids stay up for the New York ball drop: Arizona keeps Mountain Standard Time all year, so midnight on the East Coast arrives at 10 p.m. here, and the little ones can celebrate and still be in bed at a sensible hour. The older kids and adults carry on to midnight with a game night, a last round on the court and a toast on the deck.

Start the new year on a trail. Arizona State Parks usually holds First Day Hikes on New Year's Day; last year Red Rock State Park led a 10 a.m. nature walk, Slide Rock State Park walked its paved, level Pendley Homestead Trail at 1 p.m., Dead Horse Ranch State Park in Cottonwood led a ranger hike at 10 a.m., and Riordan Mansion in Flagstaff held its own First Day event at 2 p.m. Registration was not required at these parks, and for America's 250th, admission was free at the 18 parks that held hikes. Watch the Arizona State Parks website for the 2027 list and fees.

The sun rises at 7:35 a.m. and sets at 5:27 p.m. on January 1, 2027, so a 10 a.m. walk fits easily between a late breakfast and an afternoon on the court. Make it a slow day: coffee on the covered deck in the morning sun, the walk, leftover pie for lunch and a tournament rematch before dinner.

New Year's Day 2027 is a Friday, the start of another three-day weekend and the last of the holiday season. Spend it on one more snow day in Flagstaff, a last Polar Express ride, or a slow morning at the house with the family before the drive home.