
When it came to organizing a week in Salt Lake City during holiday time, we had help from four sources in planning: our own knowledge of the area, our daughter-in-law’s input, help from neighbors who are not Mormon but who lived in Salt Lake City for many years, and the thoughts of 4 Mormon girls who proselytize in our area and, so far, have not tried to convert us to Mormonism while helping Ruth with her gardening. They really knew the area well and helped us find different activities, like Luminaria, that was our favorite holiday activity. We would otherwise not have known about it. Ruth called about tickets and found it sold out during the entire time we were in the Salt Lake City area.

Ruth had a hard time getting tickets to Luminaria in Lehi, UT at first. Tickets were unavailable during the time we were there, but persuasive Ruth managed to convince the woman in charge of it that genuine outsiders needed to see this holiday light display. The woman called back within an hour with an offer of VIP tickets.

Lumimaria is described as “an enchanting walk through a shimmering holiday world in Ashton Gardens at Thanksgiving Point” on Google, and it is exactly that. It attracts mostly locals who seemed enraptured by the variety of colored lights and other holiday displays seen. Miniature villages and other treats abounded. The walk was a mile through a hillside displays of varied lights after indoor fun that dazzles from 5 to 8:30 pm and beyond. This is a timed-entry experience.

Our neighbors were especially helpful about preparations for Thanksgiving dinner at Little America and elsewhere, knowing which ski resorts and gondolas were running, and we would not have known about the lavishly decorated lobby of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building without their guidance. Our daughter-in-law was helpful about local treat attractions and other things worth doing, like the Bonneville Salt Flats and unknowable holiday activities. We would not have known, for example, about the Museum of Natural Curiosity at Ashton Gardens without her input.

Hank