If you live near Phoenix or are traveling there in the next week, you have to go see the luminaries at the Desert Botanical Garden.

We lived in Arizona for 13 years, but had never gone to see the luminaries, so when my mom and I went to Scottsdale for our girls’ shopping trip, my mom got tickets for us (and her BFF, Beth), to go.

I love luminaries anyway — our church always put them out at Christmas — but they seem especially beautiful against the backdrop of palo verde trees and saguaro cacti. We got the earlier timeslot for tickets (5:30 p.m. to 7:30), which worked out perfectly because we got to see some of the landscape and the breathtaking desert sunset before walking through the dark garden in the glow of the luminaries and white Christmas lights.

They had alcoholic hot chocolate available (we preferred the peppermint to the raspberry, but both were delicious!), and several musical performances by different artists and groups around the garden, which made it a lot more fun than just walking around in the dark.

It was dark, though, and there were a few parts that would be difficult for someone with limited mobility or poor eyesight (Beth had just had eye surgery a few days before, and there was one path she passed on), but most of it seemed pretty accessible.

As you can probably tell, the luminaries themselves weren’t made out of paper bags, but, rather, some kind of ceramic or plastic-type material. However, the candles inside were real — as evidenced by the volunteers walking around to re-light the ones that went out.

It really was gorgeous. These photos don’t really do it justice, though, so you’ll have to see it for yourself.