[southdown]

We are a British family living in TX for a year or two, and thinking of having a trip over Christmas.

What would Las Vegas be like for a Christmas break - is there much to do for a family, within driving distance?

thanks!

[janeannwho]

Originally Posted by southdown

We are a British family living in TX for a year or two, and thinking of having a trip over Christmas.

What would Las Vegas be like for a Christmas break - is there much to do for a family, within driving distance?

thanks!

I have not lived in Vegas for two years, but usually the casinos have some snow stuff, some nice Christmas type ice shows, etc. You can take the kids rock scrambling in Red Rock (30 minutes from downtown), skiing is about an hour drive. Circus Circus has an indoor theme park and New York New York and the Sahara have full size arcades with rollercoasters. Depending on the hotel you may or may not have a pool as they close alot of the pools in the winter. If you are looking for lots of Christmas decorations, you really won't find it in Vegas. Hope this gets you started anyway.

[southdown]

Originally Posted by janeannwho

I have not lived in Vegas for two years, but usually the casinos have some snow stuff, some nice Christmas type ice shows, etc. You can take the kids rock scrambling in Red Rock (30 minutes from downtown), skiing is about an hour drive. Circus Circus has an indoor theme park and New York New York and the Sahara have full size arcades with rollercoasters. Depending on the hotel you may or may not have a pool as they close alot of the pools in the winter. If you are looking for lots of Christmas decorations, you really won't find it in Vegas. Hope this gets you started anyway.

Thanks!

Not looking for decorations and lights especially, more fun stuff to do - with a good base to do it from.

Skiing, rock scrambling, anything outdoors sounds good, plus a choice of indoor entertainment too.

[janeannwho]

how old are the kids?

[southdown]

Kids are 7, 12 and 14. They all love outdoorsy stuff and are OK with fairly arduous walking, climbing etc. Theme parks work, too!

[janeannwho]

Valley of Fire is up 15 a ways and has some great trails. There are the beehives that have a definite Flinstone house feel to them. In the winter, if you go to Red Rock canyon, you can sometimes find a hidden waterfall. If you have a car, you can go for a three minute tour of the Ethel Ms candy factory and get a free piece of chocolate (we used to live nearby and my kids loved stopping by once and a while for a big treat!) and they have a nice cactus garden. Lamb park out on 95 is an old dude ranch and it has a huge assortment of peacocks, and you can fish there. I am not sure if it runs in the winter, but you can sometimes have dinner out on a boat on Lake Meade and the Dam tours are fun ( with all sorts of dam jokes). There is a small natural history museum in town, a Madame Toussouds (sp) wax museum at the Venetian. The Mandalay bay has the shark experience, the Mirage has the tigers and dolphins both for a price. For free you can see lions in the MGM, the white tigers are on display in the Mirage, a flamingo garden is at the Flamingo. You can do a medieval dinner with clowns, horses, jousting at the Exalibur. Lots of stuff to do. The theme park is small but the fact that it is indoors is cool for an afternoon.

[lexusman199]

I'm not sure about xmas but if you plan to stay for new years than I've heard it gets really crazy

[janeannwho]

Originally Posted by lexusman199

I'm not sure about xmas but if you plan to stay for new years than I've heard it gets really crazy

We took our kids to Cirque de Soleil for the new years midnight show, and then out the back to our car. Park early in the morning, then taxi or bus around on the early evening of New Years, but after like 7 you can't get taxis or busses on the strip. There might be a first night in Henderson.