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Christmas in Santa Fe

Winter, in my opinion, is the best time to be in Santa Fe. In fact this is the time when many visitors decide to purchase their home here, either as a second home or a place to retire to. Why? It’s magical!

Crisp mornings, starry clear nights, the Christmas lights going on in the Santa Fe Plaza. Ski racks starting to appear on cars. The traditions of a Santa Fe Christmas unfold slowly.For me it starts with  Las Posadas on the weekend before Christmas, with the red-clad devildenying Joseph and Mary access to any inns around the Plaza, followed by cider and cookies in the courtyard in thePalace of the Governors. (here’s a video of that event).

The farolito walk around Canyon Road on Christmas Eve attracts over 30,000 people, strolling up and down the streets of the East Side.  Many homeowners light small bonfires outside their East Side homes, attracting carolers and people just looking for a little warmth.  Yes, 30,000 people sounds like a lot and it is – my advice is to stick to the side streets, lit only by the braziers and the flashing Christmas lights on passing Labradors.

After the walk, warm up with a hot toddie at the bar in La Fonda Hotel.  If you’re lucky you’ll see Bill Hearne playing his heart out there.  By the way if you are at a loss about Christmas lunch, the recently revived Plazuela Restaurant at La Fonda would be an excellent choice.

 

 

 

 

Another option on Christmas Day in Santa Fe is to leave it, and head to Taos.

Taos Pueblo is the only living Native American community designated both a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and a National Historic Landmark.

The multi-storied adobe buildings have been continuously inhabited for over 1000 years.  On Christmas Day, the community performs the mystical, other-worldly Matachines,or Deer, Dance.

 

 

 

 

While Taos Ski Valley is one of the world’s best location for hard core downhill skiing, Santa Fe’s ski basin is not bad for the Rest of Us.  It’s just half an hour from the Plaza, and its size means you can be schussing within a short time of arriving.

Even if you don’t ski, the ski basin’s a great place to start on a winter hike, do a little snowshoeing or nordic skiing.  A good location to rent ski gear is Cottams, which is on Hyde Park Road on the way up to the ski basin.x

 

 

After a hard day’s activities, and before you settle into your dinner at Maria‘s, few locations can beat Ten Thousand Waves, on the way down from the ski basin.  Here I can only quote the New York Times, who did their own Christmas in Santa Fe feature some years back.

Santa Fe, a national leader in body workers per capita, is home to Ten Thousand Waves, a Japanese health spa like no other. There is nothing quite like slipping into a kimono and zoris in winter, navigating gravel paths as the bitter cold sets in.
Then you plunk down into your outdoor hot tub, gazing at boughs of fragrant, snow-covered juniper and thanking the steam gods for concealing all your flaws. (Sadly, I have never tried the signature facial of pulverized nightingale droppings, said to be the fave of geishas.)
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