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Tickets for the event are $20 per person, children under 12 get in free. Ticket holders will receive a map to the participating B&Bs and coupons for six local restaurants. Attendees also will be entered into a drawing to win a stay at a Sedona bed and breakfast as well as spa treatments, Out of Africa Wildlife Park tickets, and sightseeing tours. To purchase tickets, call 928-284-2020 or 928-284-7896. To learn more about the 22-member Premier Bed & Breakfasts of Sedona, visit www.bbsedona.net.
Sprucing Up a Public Fountain
Walk around Tlaquepaque Arts and Crafts Village in the days after Thanksgiving and you may see the Village’s signature fountains filled not with water, but with a team of decorators creating stunning winter arrangements. The fountains, which are turned off in October, are filled with fresh greenery, apples and other fruits, gourds, feathers and natural elements for the holidays, says Wendy Lippman, Tlaquepaque’s general manager and resident partner.
“We try to work off the Old World and Mexican architecture of the Village,” she explains. Twenty-two feet of garland drapes over the doorway to Tlaquepaque’s chapel; the cross outside is wrapped in garland. Sycamore trees are tightly wrapped with white lights, and serapes (colorful Mexican blankets) hang all around. Lining the walls surrounding the entrance to Tlaquepaque are plastic electric luminarias, hinting at events to come.
10 Decorating Tips for Your Southwestern Holiday
Lynne Montedonico, Sedona Monthly’s style consultant and a designer with Stephanie Larsen & Associates, says simplicity and natural materials are the keys to elegant Southwest holiday decorating. She offers these tips to bring a little regional flavor home this season.
1. Find an antique or worn cowboy boot and fill it with high-quality artificial poinsettias (Lynne purchased hers at Sam’s Club).
2. Place a large candle in a rusted or terracotta dish filled with flat glass marbles (the candle should match the marbles); surround it with smaller red or green candles.
3. Decorate your chandeliers with artificial poinsettias. Use lots of flowers for a dramatic look, but stick with one type to keep it from looking too busy. Weave artificial berries through chandeliers too.
4. Wreaths are always in style. Try a wicker one decorated with a large plaid or velvet bow – use wired ribbon to get a nice shape. Use a barbed-wire wreath decorated with small poinsettias, berries and pine cones. A small nut wreath made with pine cones and nuts can double as a candle ring.
5. Fill a basket or bowl with pine cones. If you want some extra flair, spray the cones with bronze, gold or silver lacquer.
6. Everyone loves stockings by the fireplace – use natural materials such as felt or burlap for a rustic feel and trim with small pine cones. These also make great hostess gifts when filled with small items.
7. Use felt, plaid or burlap for a Christmas tree skirt. Or, buy a large red flannel sheet and use it as a skirt. Either way, keep it simple.
8. Buy small (8 to 12 inches tall) artificial trees at various heights for your yard. String white lights through each tree; make sure you purchase lights with a green cord if your trees are green – white cords look tacky. The trees also work well on a buffet table.
9. Use baskets of poinsettias, wreaths and twinkling lights to add some cheer to your front door. For an additional Southwestern touch, decorate an iron cactus with white lights and place it near your doorstep.
10. Set a beautiful dinner table by placing Southwestern-style wrapped gifts at each place setting as a party favor. Keep the center of the table simple with candles interspersed with pine cones.
MORE SEDONA HOLIDAYS: Tlaquepaque luminarias, happy holidays, Sedona style, Sedona holidays at home, a Sedona Halloween, holiday shopping in Sedona, best northern Arizona seasonal celebrations, Sedona holiday happenings, romantic Sedona Valentine’s Day
