Paradise Valley's Town Calendar Is Quiet This December. The Resorts Have Filled It In.

The Town of Paradise Valley's December 2026 calendar is made up of public meetings. The Planning Commission meets December 1. Coffee with a Cop runs from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. on December 2, and the Board of Adjustment meets that evening. The Hillside Building Committee follows on December 9 and the Town Council on December 10. The last entries are a Planning Commission meeting and the Advisory Committee on Public Safety on December 15. The calendar lists no tree lighting, holiday market or community celebration.

The season's events are on the calendars of a handful of resort dining rooms and one historic restaurant, between Camelback Mountain and Mummy Mountain. Their dates arrive in a particular order. The first ticketed dinner is in mid-November, the Thanksgiving ordering cutoffs follow within days, and all of it comes before the first tree lighting. Planning the 2026 holidays in Paradise Valley starts with those November dates.

The November Dates That Come First

These dates arrive before any tree goes up:

1. November 15, 6 p.m. LON's at The Hermosa Inn hosts The Long Table at Casa Hermosa: A Garden Harvest Dinner. Arrival is at 6, dinner is at 6:30, and the price is $195 per person plus tax and gratuity, with wine, cocktails and mocktails included. Booking is through OpenTable.
2. November 15. Omni Scottsdale Resort & Spa at Montelucia starts its Sweet Treats and Holiday Screenings, an evening program with hot cocoa, seasonal sweets and holiday movies on select dates through the season.
3. November 18, 5 p.m. This is the order deadline for El Chorro's Thanksgiving Take-Home Feast.
4. November 21, 9:30 a.m. LON's hosts Mimosa & Monet, led by Carrie Curran Art Studios. This session's painting is "Everlasting Sunset," and the $120 price covers instruction, supplies, a mimosa, coffee, pastries, tax and gratuity.
5. November 24, 5 p.m. This is the order deadline for Mountain Shadows' Thanksgiving to-go meal.
6. November 28. Blitzen's, the Christmas pop-up at Centro Bar at Montelucia, opens.

The two take-home cutoffs are spaced differently. El Chorro's comes eight days before Thanksgiving, with pickup the day before. Mountain Shadows closes orders two days ahead.

Thanksgiving Across Five Kitchens

Thanksgiving is Thursday, November 26. Five Paradise Valley kitchens have published a plan for it, and their prices range widely. The table compares each venue's listed adult price or package.

Most of the spread comes from format. El Chorro's $250 feast serves four, so it works out to about $62.50 a person, before any sides or drinks a household adds. Rita's Cantina lists $189 per adult for brunch, and its 20% service charge comes on top of that.

Mountain Shadows offers the same holiday two ways. Dinner at Hearth '61 is $159 per adult. The to-go meal is $84 per person, or $42 for ages 12 and under, with pickup from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day. A household that wants Hearth '61's food at the dining table at home needs to order by November 24, two days ahead. A table in the restaurant requires a $25 per person deposit through Tock at booking.

LON's has the lowest adult price among the dine-in options, at $135 plus tax and gratuity. The cowboy artist Lon Megargee built the restaurant in the 1930s as his home and studio, and it keeps its original adobe architecture and a patio with five outdoor fireplaces.

December 4 Is the Free One

Almost every holiday listing in Paradise Valley requires a reservation, a deposit or a set price. The exception is Omni Montelucia's Omni Lights Up the Holidays, held Friday, December 4, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in Cortijo Plaza. The resort describes the evening as a holiday tree lighting with a live drumline, Santa photos, s'mores, cookie decorating and hot cocoa, and states plainly:

"This festive gathering is complimentary and open to the public."

The Town's December calendar has no community holiday event, so the December 4 tree lighting at Montelucia is the closest thing Paradise Valley has to one in 2026. It also starts a series of Montelucia events. Breakfast with Santa at Prado follows on December 12, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., with a buffet, cookie decorating, hot cocoa and a family photo with Santa. Reservations are required through OpenTable.

Blitzen's, the Centro Bar pop-up, will already be open by the tree lighting. It runs November 28 through January 3, Sunday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Out-of-town guests can drop in on a weeknight afternoon without planning around a seating time.

Mid-December Events

After the tree lighting, the calendar fills with small, ticketed events. Most have a fixed start time and limited space.

• December 9, 3 p.m. elements at Sanctuary Camelback Mountain hosts a Holiday Martini Making Class for $100 per person, for guests 21 and older.
• December 12, 9:30 a.m. Mimosa & Monet returns to LON's, and this session's painting is "Desert Jewels." Breakfast with Santa at Prado is the same morning.
• December 13, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. LON's hosts the Winter Wonderland Gingerbread Workshop. Brunch buffet and decorating supplies are $50 per person, plus $75 per gingerbread house, so two adults building one house together spend $175.
• December 20. LON's hosts the Esteban Christmas Matinee Concert in the Garden, with seatings from 3 to 4:30 p.m. and 5:30 to 7 p.m. Each costs $175 per person, includes tax, gratuity, light tapas and wine, and can be booked through OpenTable or by phone.

The Esteban concert is the only listing in this set where the price already includes tax and gratuity. The other LON's dinners are listed with a double plus, meaning tax and gratuity are added to the posted price.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

The three main venues handle Christmas in different ways, which helps when a household is planning both days.

On Christmas Eve, Thursday, December 24, LON's serves a three-course prix fixe from 4 to 8 p.m. at $135++ per adult and $35++ per child, with beverages extra. Prado at Montelucia is open from 4 to 9 p.m. with its regular menu, and reservations are required.

On Christmas Day, Friday, December 25, Prado serves a buffet brunch from 7 a.m. to noon. LON's offers its prix fixe again from noon to 8 p.m. at the same price as Christmas Eve. elements at Sanctuary serves a Christmas Day feast from 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. at $185 per person, or $65 for children 12 and under. With those hours, a household could have an early brunch at Prado and dinner at LON's or elements on the same day.

LON's adds one condition for both days. Guests may request indoor or outdoor seating, but patio seating is not guaranteed. Anyone hoping for a table near one of the five patio fireplaces should ask when booking.

New Year's Eve and New Year's Day

New Year's Eve falls on a Thursday this year, and the three venues use three different formats.

LON's has two seatings. The first runs from 5 to 6:45 p.m. at $200 per person, and the second from 7 to 9 p.m. at $230. An optional wine pairing is $100, and beverages, tax and gratuity are extra. Live music runs from 7 p.m. to 12:30 a.m., so the later seating moves straight into the music.

elements serves New Year's Eve dinner from 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. at $185 per person. Montelucia's evening runs from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m., with a five-course prix fixe at Prado, two seating options, live music at Mbar and a champagne toast at midnight beneath Camelback Mountain. Dinner reservations go through OpenTable.

LON's also serves New Year's Day brunch on January 1, 2027, from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., at $65 per adult and $25 per child, with beverages, tax and gratuity extra. Blitzen's stays open two days longer and closes January 3.

One Calendar, Several Booking Systems

The booking systems are part of the planning. LON's, Prado and Rita's Cantina take reservations through OpenTable. Hearth '61 uses Tock and takes a deposit. El Chorro uses SevenRooms. A household planning Thanksgiving, a Santa breakfast and New Year's Eve at three different venues may need three separate accounts. Most of the dates that need action fall in November: the Long Table on the 15th, El Chorro's order cutoff on the 18th and Mountain Shadows' cutoff on the 24th.

If holiday guests are coming and you want your own home ready to host, Josh can help with the details, from a refreshed entry to a dining room arranged for a full table. Josh Gonzalez has spent three decades in design and presentation and is glad to walk through your space before the season starts. Let's Connect.