The weather outside is frightful…but know what makes a cozy fire even more delightful? One of winter’s warming cocktails, perfect for a long day spent skiing—or, if you don’t swing

Growing up, I lived in a household with parents of different faiths—who had, in their own way, moved on from the traditional Judeo-Christian environments in which they’d been raised—who didn’t really enforce either one.

There are many people who believe, with some justification, that Santa Fe is in the twilight zone. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, however, Santa Fe straddles zones 6a and 5b, but mostly exists in zone 6a.

For your holiday shopping convenience, we present a few of Santa Fe’s holiday shows, as well as which types of people on your gift list we think they’d best accommodate.

Ah, the holiday season: that magical time of year when snow falls, children laugh and raw eggs aren’t just a salmonella-carrying, old-timey hangover remedy; they’re part of the cause.

We all know the story or, at least, most of us do. Toward the end of the year in AD 1, a bunch of shepherds and wise men all went to Bethlehem to see a pretty special baby born to a virgin in a hay loft. The North Star was shining, the sheep were bleating and all was calm on that holy night. Only, that’s probably not exactly what happened.

Holiday music is a subtle art. For some people, energetic carols and traditional Christmas tunes are the seasonal fare. Others go in for more subdued sacred choral works, while yet others prefer a variety of classical favorites. Whatever your preference, Santa Fe has something for you.

Frank Buffalo Hyde illustrates the cross-contamination of his Native heritage with pop culture icons. A typical composition includes a depiction of a Native figure or artifact juxtaposed with a mass-produced object, often dessert, floating amid a field of dots or bright color.

An early pre-Halloween snowfall in Santa Fe sent us all scurrying into our sweater drawers and required the reluctant firing up of pilot lights around town. While November returned us to more moderate temperatures, the snow on the mountain leaves no doubt: The first official day of winter isn’t until Dec. 21, but we’ll be fully into the swing of that picturesque season by then.

In 1984, Mark Mortier and a few friends crossed over the top of Santa Fe’s Lake Peak in flimsy leather ski boots, with skinny, 7-foot-long telemark skis thrown over their shoulders. They clipped at the top of a sub-peak on the other side and dropped into a small piece of heaven.