Five festive Valley families share their holiday traditions with Arizona Foothills Magazine.
The Luomas
Eric is president of his family business, Cactus Flower, and owner of a debt collection agency. He is also a member of the Scottsdale Charros and Scottsdale Leadership. Tatum is the director of public relations at the Scottsdale Convention & Visitors Bureau and an active member of Scottsdale Leadership.
What are your annual holiday traditions?
Every year, we participate in the Christmas Angel program where we purchase gifts for a child or family in need. Our favorite holiday activities are the Luminarias at Desert Botanical Garden, Movies in The Park at Biltmore Fashion Park and driving around the Valley to look at holiday light displays. Our niece and her friends set up a cocoa hut in her neighborhood each year to raise money for St. Mary’s Food Bank by giving out hot cocoa and holiday treats in exchange for monetary donations and canned food.
Most memorable holiday moment from past years?
Christmas, 2004. Each present I opened from Eric had a warm theme, -everything from mittens to flannel pajamas and a long winter coat. I didn’t know what to make of it since nothing was necessary for winter weather in Scottsdale until I opened the final gift: plane tickets to Chicago. I love surprises and had no clue that Eric had planned a trip to the Windy City to ring in the New Year.
Where will you spend the holidays this year?
We are so fortunate to have both of our families living in Scottsdale so we are able to spend time with all of our loved ones during the holiday season. We begin on Christmas Eve with church service followed by an early Christmas morning at home, opening presents and reflecting on our many blessings. This year will be even more special as our greatest gift of all is Cayden. After celebrating with the three of us, the ‘holiday express’ begins with stops at each of our parents’ houses to celebrate, exchange gifts and eat traditional Christmas meals. Christmas ends with an annual ‘fireside chat’ gathering with good friends, a creative gift exchange and festive cocktails.
What are you most looking forward to this holiday season?
We are most looking forward to Cayden being a part of our holiday traditions and celebrating the season with him. We can’t wait for those precious moments when he gets his first bike, leaves cookies and milk for Santa, and wakes us up on Christmas morning. We are excited to teach Cayden the importance of Christmas and hope to instill the same values of giving to those less fortunate all year long, which our parents did with us when we were young.
