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Christmas vacation in Las Vegas with family can be a lot of fun. Las Vegas is generally not considered a family friendly destination but in December it turns into Christmas Wonderland that you absolutely have to see and experience.
Below is a detailed Las Vegas itinerary for family. One thing you should keep in mind up-front is that in terms of Christmas attractions in Las Vegas, there are some that you can visit during the day and some you can only experience in the evening.
Ideally, you should plan at least 3 full days in town just for Christmas attractions and events otherwise your Christmas vacation in Las Vegas will become very exhausting. If you want to do more things, such as attend family friendly shows in Las Vegas or take a couple of day trips then you will definitely need to plan for a longer stay.
I have planned out a perfect 3 days “Christmas vacation in Las Vegas” itinerary for family but you can always adjust it as needed.
Christmas in Las Vegas itinerary for family: Day 1
Holiday Express
This is the day when you will arrive in Las Vegas. Plan your arrival so that you are in town no later than 3 pm. That will give you an opportunity to quickly check into your hotel and then visit the first amazing Las Vegas Christmas attraction – Holiday Express at Springs Preserve.
Holiday Express is a wonderful family Christmas adventure that starts when you board an elaborately decorated train and take a ride to Santa’s Village.
In the Village there are several “stops” that you need to visit in turn. Each stop offers a different holiday activity: listening to a Christmas story, decorating a cookie, visiting a Nutcracker museum, taking a photo with Santa, etc.
This adventure is meticulously planned out by the Springs Preserve staff. Visitors arrive by train in small groups at certain intervals so there are no crowds.
Holiday Express is one of the most perfectly executed Christmas events that I have ever attended. We absolutely loved it! This event typically takes place on 3 weekends in December (Friday-Sunday). On Friday from 2 to 6 pm and on Saturday and Sunday from 11 am to 6 pm. You have to book your ticket for a specific time which will be your train departure time.
If you come early you will also have an opportunity to explore the Springs Preserve which is a great attraction in itself with a botanical garden, Mojave Desert wildlife exhibits, conservation education exhibits and much more.
Christmas in Las Vegas itinerary for family: Day 2
Start your second day of your Christmas vacation in Las Vegas early, around 9 am or so. Most of the city’s visitors are either still asleep at this hour or have just gone to bed since they were probably partying hard the previous night. I find Las Vegas most beautiful early in the morning: no crowds, no speeding and honking cars, no buzz. At this time of day the city has a clean and fresh look.
Begin your day with strolling the Strip and stopping by various hotels to see their jaw dropping Christmas decorations. Las Vegas does everything over the top, Christmas included. So go ahead, enjoy this awesome Christmas stroll: you don’t have to be staying at any given hotel to wonder about inside and this little “tour” is absolutely FREE of charge.
It is close to impossible to stop by every single famous hotel on the Strip in 1 day. So if you have to choose where to go, here are 3 places that you absolutely cannot miss:
Wynn Hotel
The centerpiece of Wynn’s holiday décor is in the atrium where the hotel master decorators create whimsical holiday villages inspired by the famous novel, Gulliver’s Travels. Both kids and adults alike would love these festive displays.
Conservatory of Flowers at Bellagio Hotel
Conservatory of Flowers is not a big or significant botanical venue in itself but the amazing Christmas decorations made of various flowers make it so unique and unbelievable beautiful. The earlier you come in the day, the less crowds you will experience.
Dancing fountains at Bellagio Hotel
Dancing fountains at Bellagio are famous all over the world and they are a spectacle any time of year but during the holiday season the experience becomes extra special because the fountains are dancing to your favorite holiday tunes. The show starts at either 11 am or 12 pm during the holiday season which lasts for about 15 minutes and then it is repeated every half hour during the day and every 15 minutes during the evening. Here is the exact schedule for Bellagio Fountains.
It makes sense to visit the Conservatory of Flowers and the fountains in one swoop.
Pro tip: The key to a successful (and not exhausting) Christmas vacation in Las Vegas with kids is moderation. Las Vegas has everything on a huge scale: from enormous hotels to long walking distances so plan to do a little bit each day and you will be just time.
In fact, if you ever traveled to Disneyland or Disney World you may apply a lot of the same day planning strategies in Las Vegas: do some activities in the morning, take some time to rest during the day and then return with renewed strength in the evening.
Tournament of Kings
In the evening of Day 2 of your Christmas in Las Vegas itinerary I suggest watching Tournament of Kings show at Excalibur hotel. During the year it is a medieval show with knights and horses similar to Medieval Times. But during the holiday season it gets a charming holiday twist. I want it to be a surprise for you but do expect some holiday magic and falling snow.
I suggest buying tickets for Tournament of Kings show well in advance. Since the holiday themed show only runs for about 6 weeks or so the tickets sell out fast. This is one of the shows that you would probably not get any discounts for because it is more of a rarity and the producers know it will most likely sell out at its original price. But if you take everything into consideration even the full priced ticket for this show is a good deal because it includes a full meal (3 courses).
Interested in other shows? Check out my detailed list of family friendly shows in Las Vegas.
Christmas in Las Vegas itinerary for family: Day 3
During the morning and early afternoon hours of Day 3 of your Christmas in Las Vegas itinerary you may explore the remaining holiday attractions.
Ice skating
Outdoor Holiday Ice Rink at the Cosmopolitan hotel is a tourist draw. It is located on the roof top of the hotel where it replaces a seasonal pool. The fun thing about this rink is that it has falling snow and nice views.
The not so good thing about Cosmopolitan ice rink is that it costs $25 regardless whether you bring your own skates or not. At most ice rinks the cost can be cut significantly if you bring your own skates (which I often do if we take a road trip instead of flying) but not at Cosmopolitan. There are no kids prices either, as you would expect, everybody pays the same price. In addition to the rink is comparatively small because, let’s face it, it is a pool not an ice arena. It is up to you to decide whether you want to experience it or not.
The reasonably priced alternatives to the Cosmopolitan ice rink are Las Vegas Ice Center, City National Arena and Sobe Ice Arena.
Aria hotel
After visiting Cosmopolitan, cross Harmon Ave and stop by Aria hotel to see their holiday gingerbread house. It is made of 900 gingerbread bricks, 960 peppermint tiles, 200 pounds of royal icing, 80 pounds of chocolate, and more than 1,000 pounds of candy. Kids are guaranteed to love it!
And even though this amazing confection is off limits in terms of tasting, Aria Patisserie sells some of the sweet treats found on the gingerbread house: chocolate Christmas trees, peppermint bark, hand-decorated cookies, lollipops, candied oranges and much more. The store is open daily from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Crystal hotel
Crystal hotel that is located right next to Aria has crystals decorated Christmas tree that is stunning and worth checking out. Right next to the tree there is a play area for kids with water “tornadoes” in glass cylinders.
Ethel M Chocolate Factory
No Christmas vacation in Las Vegas would be complete without a visit to Ethel M Chocolate Factory, which is best done in the evening. This chocolate factory is famous not just for its chocolate but for sprawling cactus garden on site, which is FREE to visit. In the evenings during the holiday season the garden is being lit with over a million lights depicting adorable Christmas scenes. The illuminated garden is open from 5 to 10 pm every day except Christmas Day (Christmas eve and New Year’s eve hours may vary). Santa stops by on weekends for photo ops too.
In addition to visiting the garden you can enjoy Ethel M delicious hot chocolate and chocolate confections and catch classic holiday clips at the outdoor movie theater.
Christmas in Las Vegas itinerary for family: ADDITIONAL TIPS
1.There are more evening attractions in Las Vegas for the holidays than you have days in this short Christmas in Las Vegas itinerary. So see which evening you have more strength left in you and visit LINQ Promenade (adjacent to Flamingo hotel, on the North side). Check out huge decorated Christmas tree, holiday performances under the aforesaid tree and the illuminated Big Roller, which lights flicker in tune with the holiday music.
2. Check out elaborate holiday buffets in various hotels on the strip. A word of caution: they will be crowded and you will have to wait in line for sure but if you come later morning for breakfast, late afternoon for lunch and early evening for dinner your wait time will be much less. One buffet offers express pass for an extra fee – Bacchanal Buffet at Cesar Palace. It will allow you to skip the line if you pay a little bit more. Inquire about the pass from a cashier at the buffet. Alternatively, if you don’t want to pay extra for the Bacchanal Buffet you can join a virtual line at the Freshtxt kiosk located outside the buffet entrance. You would still have to wait for your turn but you wouldn’t need to physically stand in line. You can go out, walk, shop, do whatever you want.
3. If you have more than a couple of days and plan to explore beyond the city (which I highly recommend), please, check out my article 10 Beast Road Trips from Las Vegas, which highlights amazing but easy family day trips that you can do while staying in Las Vegas.
4. There are also a bunch of non-Christmas cheap and fun things to do in Vegas.
5. Las Vegas in located in desert climate so in December during the day the temperature may be in high fifties or low sixties Fahrenheit but in the evening in can easily drop into low thirties so bring some warm clothes and may be even a hat and mittens with you if you plan to explore outdoor evening attractions.
6. Where to stay in Las Vegas.
If you are looking for family friendly hotels for your family vacation in Las Vegas, I highly recommend Embassy Suites by Hilton
. It is located away from the Strip but very close to it (on a street that runs one block away parallel to the Strip). Embassy Provides free shuttle to and from the Strip from early morning till evening and it takes less than 10 minutes to get to the Strip.
Embassy Suites amenities are great for families: 2 separate rooms in every suite that sleep 6 people comfortably, FREE made to order breakfast, FREE reception in the evening with drinks and snacks and FREE parking. In addition to all that, Embassy Suites in Las Vegas is very reasonably priced – we stayed there a couple of times and we never paid more than $135 per night. The image below will take you directly to the hotel’s website to check out amenities and prices:
To check out current best prices on other hotels in Las Vegas, use Booking.com:
If you found this information about Christmas vacation in Las Vegas useful, please do me a little favor and share this information with others, for there’s a good chance that it will help them with their travel plans. 🙂 Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram where I post many more cool photos and videos about our trips than I could include in a blog post and organize some nice giveaways!
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