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Looking for experiences instead of stuff this holiday? Here are 4 ideas in metro Phoenix

Volunteers and staff members light candles
Jaye McAuliffe
/
KJZZ
Volunteers and staff members light candles ahead of the Desert Botanical Garden's annual event, Las Noches de las Luminarias, in 2019.

This guide was part of Radio Heads, the weekly newsletter from The Show. Want more good stuff like this delivered right to your inbox? Subscribe now.

If you're still looking for holiday gift ideas, you can hit all of the local markets (check out our rundown) to take care of your Christmas list — or you can go the experience route with these four upcoming events.

Ballet Arizona kicks off the annual "Nutcracker" performances on Dec. 12 at Symphony Hall in Phoenix. Catch the performances — featuring live music from the Phoenix Symphony — through Dec. 27.

ASU Gammage is hosting holiday variety show, "A Magical Cirque Christmas." the traveling show, which features acrobatics and contortionists, will be in Tempe for one night only on Dec. 30.

Phoenix Theatre Company’s "A Christmas Carol" — now in its 19th year — will run through Dec. 28.

If you’d rather be outside, Desert Botanical Garden’s path will be lit through the end of the month for the annual Las Noches de las Luminarias event. Meet Sonoran Santa and Mrs. Claus on select evenings through Dec. 23.

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Claire Lawton is an assistant digital editor for The Show. She grew up in Phoenix, ran the arts section at a local newspaper and is back after more than a decade in New York and California.