Season’s Greetings from Sin City: Skip the Flight Home and Hit the Strip Instead
Forget about home – there’s no place like Las Vegas for the holidays. Every year the holiday season gets a bit merrier in Sin City thanks to new seasonal attractions and returning holiday favorites that are sure to win over even the biggest bearers of “humbug.”
The ‘Knight’ Before Christmas
Several shows on the Strip celebrate the spirit of the season with special holiday productions, including Excalibur’s medieval-themed dinner show, “Tournament of Kings.” Its holiday production, “Tournament of Kings: ‘Twas the Knight,” returns for select dates Nov. 23 through Dec. 25 and offers guests of all ages a festive tale of valor and treachery. Guests will get to enjoy a holiday feast fit for royalty, including a succulent roasted Cornish game hen and a scrumptious hand-decorated holiday sugar cookie, while being entertained by holiday-inspired music, poems, songs, costumes and decorations. The majestic Merlin will even summon snowfall upon the Tournament of Kings Arena, transforming it into a medieval winter wonderland. mgmresorts.com/excalibur
Be Merry – See Barry
Some of Las Vegas’ resident music headliners get into the holiday spirit as well, like Barry Manilow. The Grammy, Tony and Emmy award winner will once again perform his holiday concert, “A Very Barry Christmas,” at Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino Dec. 1 through 3 and 8 through 10 at 7 p.m. The production features Manilow singing his classic hits along with some holiday favorites in a jubilant atmosphere. Although the show only debuted in Las Vegas last year, it’s already become a holiday tradition for “Fanilows”! westgatelasvegas.com
“Ice to See You” This Season
Another seasonal attraction that’s become a holiday tradition over the years is The Ice Rink at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. Returning for its 11th season Nov. 15, 2022, through Jan. 2, 2023, the family favorite transforms the resort’s Boulevard Pool into a winter wonderland high above the Strip complete with seasonal bites and cocktails, holiday films on the property’s 65-foot-tall digital marquee and ice skating on a 4,200-square-foot rooftop rink.
Special events are held throughout the season, too, including an appearance by Benny the Ice-Skating Dog on Dec. 1. For every skate rental purchased during the event, $2 will be donated to the Nevada Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. cosmopolitanlasvegas.com
Be Impressed with a Condensed Holiday Classic
Holiday revelers can also enjoy an experiential retelling of a beloved classic when “The Immersive Nutcracker: A Winter Miracle” makes its debut inside Lighthouse ArtSpace Las Vegas at The Shops at Crystals on Nov. 19. Set to the music of Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, the immersive experience relays the tale of “The Nutcracker” in just 30 minutes as visitors are encompassed in more than 500,000 cubic feet of projections composed of over 1 million frames of video. Sure to become an instant holiday classic, the enchanting attraction runs through Dec. 30. immersive-nutcracker.com
-Heather Turk, Vegas Guide Writer