It's finally that year where you were able to escape the clutches of your overbearing family and spend the holidays exactly how you want to spend them. This Christmas, you have no obligations to anybody and seeing as how you're in Las Vegas; the world is pretty much your oyster. Unlike many of the local businesses, the major properties along the Strip remain open during this joyous day and ensure that the holiday travelers will naught be without something to entertain themselves with.
If you've never spent a Christmas in the desert, you'll be surprised to find that you can probably do without that ten inch thick ski parka if you're travelling by foot. Though it is the end of December, the weather is still fairly mild, offering a slight hint of briskness that simply exists to remind you of the winters elsewhere. Despite the lack of the chilly weather and the inability to build friendly snowmen, a Christmas spent in Las Vegas is an experience that must be had.
The first thing you'll come to notice is the change in decor. Following in the footsteps of every department store in town, the local hotels break out the best of their holiday decorations and instill the Christmas spirit into its guests with a stream of holiday-themed music. At first glance, you may not recognize some of the more famous locations in Sin City, more specifically the Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in the Bellagio. What was once a forest of green is decorated heavily with silver bells and gigantic Christmas balls. The botanical square has also been known to house a small army of (plastic) penguins that stare blankly at all those looking for a photo-op. A large tree in the center makes up the focal point of the attraction and drives home that holiday spirit into each surveyor. Even the Bellagio's dancing fountain changes up its playlist to put on a striking show to some favorite Christmas tunes.
To go along with the gift giving aspects of the holidays, most casinos will have a little something set aside for its cardholding members. Show your players card and you could be going home with a minor free play or even a frozen holiday pie to round off Christmas Day with.
Christmas may be known as a season of giving, but you must also understand that some business will take advantage of the slew of tourists that have little else to do besides sleep, eat, and gamble. In previous years, most buffets have been known to rearrange their spread in such a way that justifies an increase in their price. Due to the large amount of people that flock to Vegas during the holidays, dinner reservations are essential to making sure you have options besides getting stuck paying the higher buffet prices.
While a Christmas without snow may seem unusual to anybody from the north, the city of Las Vegas does more than it needs to drive home that holiday spirit. Some people flock to Florida for the holidays, assuming that the tropical weather has stuck around - but it's really Sin City that offers an unrivaled experience for those traveling for the Christmas season. Since nothing in Las Vegas closes (that includes all of the small shops lining the Las Vegas Strip), you'll never be at an entertainment loss.
