Last month, we were all headed to the mall to see Santa Claus. This month, we can catch jugglers, acrobats, trapeze artists and stunt men there.

It’s a wacky but fun East Valley tradition for kids: Swimming with Santa.

Temperatures will be start dropping into the low 60s Monday.

As the Christmas countdown clock ticks away, the kiddos inevitable questions grow more frequent: Is there a Santa Claus? Why do we celebrate Christmas? Who is Baby Jesus?

Santa Claus, the Mesa Fire and Medical Department, Mesa Police and Southwest Ambulance joined with Mesa Councilman Dennis Kavanaugh to deliver hundreds of toys Monday to the young patients at Cardon Children’s Medical Center.

Take a hayride, shop in the marketplace, visit the petting zoo and warm your hands in front of a bonfire while sipping hot chocolate, roasting s’mores and listening to Christmas music at this annual Superstition Farm event. Santa, atop a vintage red tractor, will also be available for pictures.

Eleven days until Christmas and our hearts are broken by the senseless killing of children and teachers in Sandy Hook Elementary School. Families changed forever, robbed of joy and happy memories in the most beautiful of seasons. Christmas is truly a child’s holiday. The love, the joy, the excitement -- it’s a holy time, a fun time, with Santa Claus, elves and presents.

City of Mesa Parks and Recreation held its annual Breakfast with Santa at the Mesa Convention Center Saturday.

NEW CANAAN, Conn. (AP) - The gang's all here: the football fan, the chef, the teacher and the skier. And there's the Nutcracker prince from E.T.A. Hoffmann's classic Christmas story, who inspired them all.

A holiday present for Fido or Fluffy used to be an extra table scrap or a new squeeze toy. But as with gifts for their human counterparts, pet presents are becoming increasingly high-tech.

Celebrate the season by dressing up in your Santa costume and competing in the 1.2K, 6K or 12K races at Freestone Park.

Every Christmas the McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park sparkles with hundreds of thousands of lights, drawing crowds of parents, grandparents and children, anxious to climb aboard the open-air train and ride through the beautifully bedecked park or take a spin on the historic carousel.

As the wife of a battalion commander and 20-year veteran of the United States Army, Bianca Caryl knows the kind of sacrifices made by members of the military.

As the wife of a battalion commander and 20-year veteran of the United States Army, Bianca Caryl knows the kind of sacrifices made by members of the military.

The Arizona Rattlers will host its Inaugural Holiday Drive at US Airways Center on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event will feature free pictures with Santa Claus, various children’s activities and bounce houses, along with a toy drive and a blood drive.

Arizona Diamondbacks World Champion and third base coach Matt Williams will be signing autographs for a $20 cash donation for the Operation Santa Claus Charity Drive on Saturday from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. at the Ahwatukee Foothills UPS Store, 4802 E. Ray Road, Suite 23.

Spend an afternoon at the family-friendly Rock ‘n 4 Recovery to benefit Hurricane Sandy relief efforts Dec. 15 in Gilbert.

For an easy and affordable way to while away our weekend, we’re looking to downtown Mesa.

Santa, Mrs. Claus and a cast of singer and dancers will deliver a sleigh full of familiar songs and yuletide humor in the “Sounds of Christmas” variety show.

From elaborately decorated trees to drive-through lighting displays to boat parades and train shows, a variety of holiday spectacles are being staged through the end of December and into early January around the country. Here are a few of them.