When Las Vegas locals tell people that they live in Sin City, the often-incredulous response is something along the lines of, “Really? Where do you live?” What the many millions of people who visit Las Vegas each year often fail to recognize is that there are tens of thousands of people working behind the scenes at the hotels, restaurants, shows and attractions that help make these vacations a reality. Beyond the glitz and glam of their work lives, they go about their everyday routines just like anyone else.
Certainly living in Las Vegas offers some unique opportunities and challenges, but, for the most part, locals just want to enjoy a “normal” life. The holiday season is one of those times of the year when this sense of normalcy is most apparent. Drive around any neighborhood beyond the Strip, and you’ll find houses decked out with lights and families buried up to their elbows baking cookies and making candy. (Those with access to cars can view the houses entered in the city of Henderson’s holiday lights contest by finding a driving guide after Dec. 14 on the city’s official website, www.cityofhenderson.com.)
Despite the desert environment, this year, there are two ice skating rinks on the Strip. The Venetian will offer 30-minute skating sessions through Jan. 6 on a synthetic ice rink adjacent to the outdoor gondola rides. And the Cosmopolitan has turned its Boulevard Pool into an ice rink through Jan. 20. An all-day pass is available for those skating at the Cosmopolitan, where the rink is surrounded by fire pits, picnic tables and chairs. Warm cocktails and snacks are available, as well, and some days there are DJs spinning rinkside.
While the ice rinks might throw a hiccup into the assumed vision of a warmer climate, Ethel M Chocolate, located in Henderson, embraces the desert by decorating its cactus garden in hundreds of thousands of twinkling lights. Palm trees and prickly pears alike are bedazzled in this free and very popular attraction open to the public. Locals and travelers mingle as they sip their hot chocolate while wearing sweatshirts and jeans, admiring barrel cacti devoid of snow but replete with a rainbow of lights. After all, this is the happiest time of the year; what better way to enjoy it?