The Banks Family Dacun and Sarah with children Jackson, 9, and Elizabeth, 5.
Dacun Banks is the Group Sales Manager at Paradise Valley’s InterContinental Montelucia Resort & Spa in Paradise while Sarah regularly volunteers for Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS) ministry at a local church in Scottsdale.
What is your favorite holiday tradition? Sarah: Family dinner time is very important to us, and we’ve found it’s the best time to remind the kids about the real reason for the Christmas season. Each year we make our very own Advent wreath at La Casa de Cristo Lutheran Church on the first Sunday in Advent. In just one hour we transform a pile of fresh greens, pins, a Styrofoam circle and four purple candles into a beautiful Advent wreath for the family dinner table. The kids look forward to the lighting of the candles each evening.
How does having kids make the holidays more fun? Sarah: Everybody gets new pajamas every year; that’s really fun. The children love decorating the tree. This year, they have a tree upstairs for themselves and we have ours downstairs.
Dacun: Having kids gives you the chance to act like a kid again yourself.
What are you most looking forward to this holiday season? Dacun and Sarah: Just being together.
Sarah: Not having to be anywhere except at home.
What’s your New Year’s resolution? Sarah: Dacun is running the P.F. Chang’s marathon; I’m running the half. This year we’re training better, so just to be healthier and keep things more balanced.
What is your favorite holiday memory? Sarah: Waiting for relatives to come and watching for them to drive up from Colorado because I grew up in South Carolina. And once they were here, just getting to spend that time with cousins and getting excited for hearing Santa on the roof, eating together and having fun.
Dacun: I think my favorite was our son’s first Christmas when we went to Santa Barbara.
What’s the best gift you’ve ever received? Dacun: The Angel Tree. We’re able to give a whole family presents at Christmas and our kids help pick out things for the kids who are their same ages and are less fortunate. They help wrap and deliver it as well.
Sarah: To be able to give to other people who need things with the Angel Tree; that’s a good gift.
What is the most unique way you have celebrated a holiday? Dacun: We used to live in Colorado and that was the year we went out into the forest and were able to get a Charlie Brown Christmas tree. That was the most fun being there because that was the only time we had a white Christmas.
Favorite Holiday Food: Italian Nut Balls and Russian teacakes.
Favorite Holiday Song: The kids like anything with Alvin and the Chipmunks in it and the Charlie Brown Christmas music.
Favorite Holiday Destination: Aspen.
