Christmas Day in Vegas

We%26#39;ll be in Vegas for Christmas this year - 23rd-29th and are wondering where to eat on Christmas Day (not too fancy and not fussed about a traditional Christmas Dinner)!!

Also will most places be open as usual? Will there be set menus at restaurants and will they be more expensive due to it being Christmas Day?? (which is fine, just want to know what to expect)

This is our first trip to Vegas, i%26#39;ll be 30 and hubby 37, what do you guys recommend to do in Vegas at Christmas?!?!?

Thanks!!!!!!

Christmas Day in Vegas

While Vegas is always busy, Christmas is the slowest time of year. I think that at most places it will be business as usual, shouldn%26#39;t be any worries about set Christmas menues or higher prices because it is Christmas. Most of the shows are dark more than normal during this time.

Christmas Day in Vegas

As far as how busy it will be, it really depends on what day of the week Christmas Day lands on. In the years prior to 2007, Christmas Day had landed on Fri., Sat., and Sun., so a lot of people made a long weekend out of it. So it was just as crowded (if not more!) than any other weekend in Vegas! Just to give you an idea, the wait for the Bellagio buffet at about noon was about 2 hours! Also, there are TONS of people that don%26#39;t really celebrate Christmas in the ';traditional'; sense, like Middle Eastern people, Asians, etc.,....so it made it all the more crowded as well. AND, for the last few years, there was this very popular Chinese singer(s) that always has a concert in Vegas around that time, so there were tons of young Chinese people in Vegas as well. Quite a few of the buffets and restaurants jack up their prices for Christmas Eve and Day.

Having said all that, it could be totally different this year since Christmas Day lands on a Thurs.

Totally agree with you Umaga!! We were in Vegas for Christmas as well, back in 2005 and it was VERY crowded!!!

Ok, here is a different picture. A lot of the restuarants on the strip are closed Xmas day, and around town most are closed. So locals hoard to the buffets, plus the tourist because a lot of the strip resturants are closed.

Buffets do jack up the prices and waits are very long. As far as Vegas being crowded, not really Xmas day has always been the slowest day of the year.

Most Americans (80% christain) celebrate Xmas and stay at home. But UK and other foreigners do not celebrate Xmas and/or belive in it so there is a fair percentage of foreingers in town, but it is stil slow. by Vegas standards.

Having gone there a few years ago when Christmas Day landed on a Saturday, it was pretty crowded! LOTS of foreigners and Asians and middle easterners. We went to the Paris buffet on Christmas Eve and the line was HORRIBLE, and we were told it would be close to a 2 hour wait! I would bet that this year MIGHT not be as bad since Christmas Day lands on a Thursday.

Many of the local residents dine out on Christmas Day - it can be quite busy, especially at the buffets.

We%26#39;re not buffet lovers, and to wait in a long line on Christmas holds no appeal for us.

If you have a restaurant at which you want to dine make reservations now - some may require a CC deposit.

Places like the cafes, grand Lux, etc will be open and do not require reservations - prices the same. Dine at ';off hours'; (if such a thing exists!) to avoid lines.

Or order room service - a sure way to avoid lines and you can dine when you choose.

We celebrate Christmas but not at home. We were in Vegas the last 2 years and may be there again this year too.

The buffet lines were crazy all 4 nights we were there last year. Many of the hotel restaurants do have a special Christmas menu. We had dinner at the steakhouse at Paris (not Mon Ami Gabi- the other one, can%26#39;t remember the name!) and it was excellent. It was a fixed price menu with several choices for each course. Very good!

Many of the big shows play over the holidays as well. We saw Love on Christmas Eve last year and Penn %26amp; Teller the year before. We are not high rollers by any means but the offers seem to get better over the Christmas holiday to fill up the hotels. We stayed at Paris last year and the Venetian the year before with comped rooms for 2 nights.

Thanks for all the replies, really appreciate your help!

We were thinking of the Wynn buffet Christmas Day, we wouldn%26#39;t usually eat dinner until about 8pm when we%26#39;re away as we like to have a few drinks first. Do we think it%26#39;ll still be packed at this time?!

Cheers!

Hi, We%26#39;ve had Christmas day there for the last three years and think it%26#39;s a great place for a non-Christmassy Christmas!

It can be busy - lots of people from Asia visit at this time of year. Quite a number of the restaurants on the Strip are open, but it is worth checking ahead and making reservations.

The first year we were there for Christmas, we didn%26#39;t! The queues for the buffets were very, very long. I think lots of locals were eating Christmas lunch on the Strip. We ended up eating a traditional Christmas dinner (pumkin pie %26amp; all!) at the 24hour restaurant at the Tropicana - definately NOT swanky, but fun. We did have the sense to book dinner reservations at the Top of the World at the Stratosphere which was nice - didn%26#39;t find it any more expensive than usual, though we had the late sitting (9pm) as they were busy.

The following year we spent Christmas at the MGM and enjoyed a breakfast in our room. For lunch we%26#39;d made reservations at Olives and ate on the terrace. The mall shops at the Venetian were open and I bought my best friend a gift from Tiffanys (might want to take hubby there!). In the evening, we ate at Nob Hill at the MGM. Had a private booth and food was excellent - approx $100 per person; we just had mains, drinks, but were served complimentary appetisers and mini desserts. To be honest, we were a little too full from lunch to really do justice to the food, but it was a nice evening.

This year we had a pretty lazy Christmas! We had a booked a Spa suite at the MGM which has a fridge, so we stocked up on nibbles and spent Christmas eve in bed watching %26#39;It%26#39;s a Wonderful Life%26#39;. On Christmas morning we drove up to Red Rock Canyon to watch the sunrise - park itself is closed, but we like to get off the Strip every now and then! We visited the Four Seasons Hotel during the day and gambled a bit in the Mandalay. We did return to Nob Hill for their Christmas Menu with wine pairing. Three courses plus wine came in around $300 for two. We were a bit disappointed with the food this year, perhaps because we were seated in the main restaurant which was a bit %26#39;open%26#39; and chilly!

I would definately recommend looking at the restaurant reviews and depending upon your budget and location, book up a table in advance. There%26#39;s not a lot of Christmassy happenings in Vegas, though some of the floral decorations and displays are pretty - Bellagio being the obvious choice to visit.

I would recommend a visit to the bar/restaurant at the Rio - the Voodoo lounge. Restaurant has nice food (not overly expensive) and from there you can go up to the bar. There is a viewing terrace with fantastic strip views. It has patio heaters, but we needed coats! Great live music and we didn%26#39;t feel out of place (early 40%26#39;s). Mixed, friendly crowd. It%26#39;s off the Strip (cab ride) but definately worth the trouble!

Have fun and Merry Christmas : )

Jo

'; But UK and other foreigners do not celebrate Xmas and/or belive in it so there is a fair percentage of foreingers in town, but it is stil slow. by Vegas standards.';

LOL.