I know, I know, you are thinking “why on earth is she talking about Christmas in February?”  Well, the answer is because we post our blogs in order and we are way, way behind schedule.  So, without further ado.

Decorations at the Bellagio.

One of our all-time favorite places to spend Christmas is in Las Vegas.  The few days before Christmas tend to be pretty quiet (although things really start to pick up by Christmas and we always get out of dodge well in advance of New Year’s Eve).

Christmas horses at the Bellagio.

Why do we like Vegas for Christmas?  Mainly because the decorations are fantastic.  The best are usually at the conservatory at the Bellagio.  Although, that also means that the Bellagio is jam packed full of tourists.

Nutcrackers at the Bellagio.

But other hotels decorate nicely as well.  This year the Wynn had a carousel made of flowers.

Carousel at the Wynn.

The Aria also did a nice job this year.

Gingerbread house at the Aria.

But the real reason we like Christmas in Vegas is because we get to indulge in one of our favorite treats — boozy brunch!  We typically go to the buffet at the Aria where we can eat and drink as much as we want.

Dessert at boozy brunch at the Aria.

I almost always stop first at the dessert table and figure out what I need to save room for (and grab a few of my favorites to make sure they are still available when I’m ready to eat them).  Robert generally goes straight for the seafood and eats his money’s worth in smoked salmon.

Suckling pig at boozy brunch at Aria.

The meats are always fantastic.  This year, in addition to the typical turkey and ham and roast beef and roast chicken, they also had some suckling pig.  Yum!

Pho fixings at boozy brunch.

The Aria’s Christmas brunch pretty much has it all.  And, when you are totally stuffed, you can spend the rest of the day gambling.  Yep, nobody has ever said we are traditionalists when it comes to Christmas.