Every December, Maricopa fills up with small transformations. Not the magical kind, but the kind that happen when regular people decide to take on something bigger than themselves. That idea runs through this month’s stories, especially our cover feature on the three locals who become Santa.
None of them grew up imagining they’d wear the suit. One found it after a near-fatal illness, another after the loss of a child and a third is just starting, trying to understand what it means to carry a tradition that has shaped this community for two decades. What they share is simple: At some point, each one said yes to becoming something they weren’t the day before.
At Desert Sunrise High School, a football program that never saw a winning season grew into a playoff team by embracing standards that demanded more from everyone involved. Maricopa High’s own football revival came from seniors who rebuilt a culture and a coach who poured himself into making Arizona’s Open Division until the day he announced he was stepping away. Our swimmers pushed past their seeds and shattered records because they chose to believe they belonged on bigger stages, too.
Transformation also shows up in quieter ways. A neighbor south of the city discovered abandoned animals in a trailer and decided she could not wait for a slow and conflicting response system. She forced open a door and changed the outcome for the pets inside, even if the bureaucracy around her refused to keep pace.
And then there is the kind of transformation that happens in front yards and cul-de-sacs. The 20th Annual Holiday Homes on Parade, presented by InMaricopa.com, turns entire blocks into glowing Christmas villages. Families decorate, explore the map and vote for their favorite lights display. In this issue, our holiday traditions feature reveals how many of those moments become lifelong markers.
This season, Maricopa is full of people choosing to become something more than they were yesterday. Some of those choices are joyful. Some are painful. All of them matter.
Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you all in 2026!
