A Very Vegas Christmas

Christmas and Las Vegas may seem contradictory. But the city has a long and cherished relationship with yuletide. In addition to the astounding shopping opportunities, there’s a vast array of holiday activities
that must be experienced to be believed, from the nation’s largest Santa gathering and special shows along the Strip to ice skating and light festivals — even snow sports at nearby Mt. Charleston.

Then there’s holiday music. Some of the greatest Christmas tunes of all time were written or recorded by classic Vegas showroom crooners: Tony Bennett’s “Winter Wonderland” and Andy Williams’ “Sleigh Ride.” Perry Como singing “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” at the old International hotel and Mel Torme belting out his famous chestnut song at the Sands.

Nowadays, all the big hotels get into the spirit, donning festive decorations and becoming part of an impromptu light show that spreads up the Strip and along Fremont Street downtown. Even Bellagio’s dancing fountains get in on the act, switching from their usual repertoire of symphonic melodies to
Christmas classics like “Santa Baby” and the “Hallelujah Chorus.”

At the Springs Preserve, more than half a million eco-friendly LED bulbs adorn the desert gardens during the suburban nature park’s annual Winter Lights Festival. The event also includes live holiday music and craft stalls. Another half a million bulbs light up the Ethel M Chocolate Factory and Holiday Cactus Garden in Henderson.

A Vegas-based nonprofi t called Opportunity Village organizes the Great Santa Run, a 5K charity event that aims to break the world record for largest gathering of people dressed like Santa. The goal for this year’s event on Dec. 10 is 13,000 jolly participants.

“We are thrilled with how it has grown in the past five years,” said Stephen Miller, special event manager for Opportunity Village. “I think it’s become so popular because it’s a fun festival-type atmosphere where the name of the game is having a good time while helping a Las Vegas-based charity.”

The Vegas run is part of a World Santa Challenge formed last year with three places that have similar events: Palm Springs, Liverpool in England and the Australian state of Tasmania. Cities in Italy, Hungary and Ireland are slated to join the yuletide alliance in future.

A whole different take on the holiday season is the Cowboy Christmas Gift Show, Dec. 2 to 11 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Coinciding with the National Finals Rodeo, the event features more than 400 holiday gift vendors from across the nation, with much of the merchandize cowboy or Western themed.

Another local Christmas tradition is the Maaco Bowl Las Vegas at the 40,000-seat Sam Boyd Stadium. The college bowl game is a showdown between Pac-10 and Mountain West Conference teams, with UCLA representing the Pac-10 three out of the last eight seasons.

This year’s bowl is scheduled for Dec. 22. There’s no such thing as a silent night in Vegas, even during the holiday season. Not when you’ve got Andy Williams coming to town for his annual Christmas Show at the Las Vegas Hilton. On the more irreverent end of the entertainment spectrum, comedian Adam Carolla pokes fun at the holidays during his “Christmas Carolla Show” at the House of Blues in the Mandalay Bay Resort.

Las Vegas also offers a veritable feast of snow and ice sports. Doesn’t seem possible in the desert? Then you probably haven’t been to southern Nevada in the winter. From the indoor Las Vegas Ice Center to the outdoor rink in the Roman Plaza at Caesars Palace, the city has half a dozen ice skating venues. SoBe Ice Arena at Fiesta Rancho casino throws adult skate parties every Friday and Saturday night, with holiday themes in the run-up to Christmas.

Forty-five minutes north of the Strip, the Las Vegas Ski and Snowboard Resort on Mt. Charleston offers four lifts, 11 runs and a snowboarding terrain park with rails, jumps and 500-foot halfpipe. The winter
sports season runs from Thanksgiving week through early April depending on the weather and snow conditions. As in much of the intermountain region, sunny days and blue skies here are the norm.

“Every day is holiday themed,” resort spokesman Curt Sheffield said. “That includes Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Just add snow!”

There’s certainly plenty of the white stuff here. Average snowfall is 120 inches, which is supplemented by snowmaking machines. Perched at 8,500 feet, the Mt. Charleston lodge provides food, drink, a ski school and shops. Las Vegas also serves as a convenient base for snow sport safaris to family-friendly Brian Head in southwest Utah. In addition to four terrain parks for snowboarding, the resort offers sleigh rides,
snowshoeing and a unique Snow Tubing Park with frozen versions of water slides. Three hours up Interstate 15, the trek can be done as a single (long) daytrip from Vegas.

—Joe Yogerst, Custom Publishing Writer