You can ride in a one-horse open sleigh: Enjoy free rides around Westgate in a horse-drawn carriage from 5 to 9 p.m. every Friday and Saturday through December 19.
You can put your child on Santa’s lap: The jolly old man in red will be on hand through December 24 (noon-8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; noon-6 p.m. Sundays; 4-8 p.m. on select weekdays) to take photos with children on his lap, listen to their Christmas-list wishes, and dole out little gifts.
You can get be part of a live-action snowglobe: From 7-8 p.m. at Fountain Park, every night through December 24, there will be “snowfall.” In other words, a big machine will be blowing cold, white stuff all over everyone. Which is still pretty cool for metro Phoenix.
You can see a colossal Christmas tree and a massive Grand Menorah: In addition to oohing and aahing at the constellations of twinkling lights adorning Westgate’s 33-foot holiday tree, you can watch the Chabad West Valley Menorah Lighting at 5 p.m. on Sunday, December 13. The Hanukkah celebration also includes children’s games, raffle prizes and entertainment. And latkes.
You can make yourself into a 3D ornament: Thanks to STAX3D Printing, you can now hang a mini-version of your elf-self on your tree. Just pop into STAX3D, where they’ll do a 3D scan of you from the neck up, place the image on a pre-designed body of an elf or snowman, and produce a custom ornament that’s so “you.” ($40 per ornament, available noon-8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; noon-6 p.m. Sundays; and 4-8 p.m. on select weekdays through December 24).
