Wednesday, December 12, 2018

Las Vegas Christmas by DeeDee Lane




Gelato!  One more reason to enjoy Christmas on the Las Vegas Strip


My husband was unexpectedly working in Las Vegas over the holidays, so we decided to take our Christmas on the road.  We left rainy Seattle, slid along snow covered roads in Oregon, and took our time meandering our way into Nevada.  After three days on the road, we landed at the Residence Inn in central Las Vegas about two hundred yards from my husband’s work site for the next month and 1500 (give or take) miles from our families in Wisconsin and Texas.
It was Christmas Eve.  We dressed in our finest road trip apparel, a fluffy skirt for me and jeans and a suit jacket for my husband, then set out for dinner and a show at the Wynn Casino and Resort. Le Reve, The Dream, a water extravaganza show was mind bogglingly filled with strong men, daring acrobatics, and women performing synchronized swimming in red high heels!  Far different from anything either of us had ever experienced on Christmas Eve. 
                The next morning we were both a bit lonely. So we lit a fake log in the hotel room fireplace, put on some John Denver Christmas carols and reminded ourselves we were lucky to be together, lucky to have this chance for work, and lucky we had families to call and wish a very Merry Christmas.  For our Christmas dinner we set out to a friend’s home, who hosted an “orphans” holiday dinner. There we enjoyed turkey, stuffing, German potato salad (my husband’s favorite) and our friend’s specialty – a German red cabbage dish that I will truly never forget it was so delish. 
                The conversation sparkled with topics ranging from recycling in Las Vegas to costume breakdowns in the Zumanity Cirque du Soleil show. Zumanity describes itself as a “highly eroticized, cabaret-style show that spotlights sensual imagery and stunning aerialists,” so that part of the conversation was not G rated but made for a lot of laughter at our table. We hugged our host and hostess goodbye and realized our Christmas in Vegas had family, counting our blessings, love, good food, and laughter.
                Happy Holidays wherever you are and in whatever way you celebrate.   


DeeDee Lane


13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Now, that's a truly different Christmas celebration! And one you obviously never forgot! I love the idea of the orphan Christmas dinner...true kindness.

Nancy Fraser said...

Ah ... LasVegas ... one of my favorite places. I've been there for New Year's Eve before, but never Christmas. Sounds like you had a great time.

DeeDee Lane said...

Thanks Nancy! Thanks Laura! If you decide to go for Christmas this year the Bellagio is doing a Holiday Magic display with an Ice Queen and lots of soldier nutcrackers. Not to be missed. Happy Holidays.

Diane Scott Lewis said...

I cherish odd holiday celebrations. Good post.
One of my favorite Christmas dinners was in a hospital cafeteria with my family, because my second granddaughter was just born that day.

Carol Henry said...

Ah, German potato salad and red cabbage remind me of the years we spent in Germany while my husband was in the Air Force. Without family to surround us, we always invited single GIs to dinner so no one would have to celebrate far from home, alone. Fond memories.

Judith Sterling said...

Sounds like a fun Christmas adventure. And that gelato looks amazing!

Sadira Stone said...

Lovely story, Dee Dee! Hubs and I are at loose ends this Christmas and may actually visit our new in-laws in Las Vegas. Thanks for the preview; sounds like a holiday there could be fun. And you're in Seattle? I'm in Tacoma!

ELF said...

What a unique way to celebrate. I've never seen those shows, but I bet they're impressive. That is definitely a different town and I'm always fascinated by the breadth of entertainment available although it's always nice to go home and rid my clothes of all of the cigarette smell, lol. Thanks for sharing and Happy Holidays!

Reviews By Crystal said...

Sounds like an interesting adventure for the holidays :)

Anna Taylor Sweringen said...

What a neat way to celebrate Christmas. I've only ever been in Las Vegas in November around Thanksgiving. I first had German potato salad at a congregational meeting when I joined a presbyterian church in Irvington NJ, the majority of whose members had German ancestry. Thanks for sharing.

dlucas said...

What an exciting celebration. I LOVE Vegas and the pistachio Gelato I get at Ceaser's Palace when we go. Thank you for sharing. Happy holidays!

DeeDee Lane said...

Thanks everyone for joining in with your thoughts and best wishes. Sadira, if you're still thinking of going to LV for the holidays my number one favorite show is O done by Cirque Soleil at the Bellagio. It is a pricey ticket but will be 90 minutes of beauty. Happy Holidays to all!

Melinda Rucker Haynes said...

Celebrating Christmas on the road! Sounds wonderful! Thanks much for sharing.