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Holidays in the Desert

Holidays in the desert can be beautiful! There are some festive events for everyone to attend and get into the Holiday spirit.

Chocolate Wonderland, at Ethel M (Ethel's) Chocolate Factory , will be open to the public from November 21, 2007 to January 1, 2008, seven days a week (except Christmas Day) from 5PM to 10PM. The cactus garden turns into a Wonderland of 500,000 lights. Friday and Saturday nights, Santa Clause visits the garden from 5PM to 9PM through December 22. Carolers from local choirs perform from 5:30PM to 7:30 PM on Friday and Saturday evenings. This is something that everyone has to see!

The 31st annual Christmas Parade of Lights is happening on Dec. 1 at the Las Vegas Boat Harbor on Lake Mead.

So, bring a blanket and sit down on the beach to enjoy all the boats lit up for the holiday season.

If you want more holiday spirit, visit the Magical Forest at Opportunity Village

which runs from November 22 to December 30. There you can see trees with millions of lights, holiday displays, ride the "Forest Express" passenger train, have a visit with Santa and enjoy some hot chocolate and funnel cakes! They have special events and giveaways throughout the holiday season and the elves work hard all year to make this a unique experience. So, come and enjoy the Winter Wonderland in the desert.

Another event that takes place at Sunset Park is the Gift of Lights. There are over 200 lighted displays in a drive thru setting. You can tune into a local radio station to enjoy Holiday music as you drive through the displays. It runs November 8 to January 1. The hours are Sunday through Thursdays from 5PM to 9PM. Fridays and Saturdays from 5PM to 10PM. Admission is $13 per car but if you bring a bag of items to donate to Goodwill, you will get a $2 discount. Partial proceeds fund the Clark County Scholarship Fund.

Finally, the Nevada Southern Railway has scheduled their annual Santa Train for the first two weekends in December. You can take a ride with Santa and Mrs. Claus for just $2 per person. The train departs at the top of every hour from 10AM to 2PM. For more information, click here.

As an added bonus, the fully restored wood burning steam engine, EUREKA will be doing demonstration runs. It is not for rides, only for viewing. Click here for a picture and more information

Happy Holidays!

Posted by Roberta LaRocca - REALTOR® Las Vegas on 11/02/2007 12:07 AM

Comments (11)

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11 Comments on Holidays in the Desert

Sounds like a blast! My children would love those activities, thanks!

11/02/2007 12:09 AM

by Ahwatukee Real Estate Expert, Dawn Workman, MBA (DPR Realty, LLC)

Roberta those are some great pics. My kids would love to see that I assure you. Thanks for sharing. Best of luck and keep doing what you do.

11/02/2007 12:10 AM

by Vincent Martinez (Prudential Network of Homes)

Great pictures. Thanks for sharing the information.

11/02/2007 12:31 AM

by Bob & Carolin Benjamin - E Phoenix Arizona Real Estate (The Benjamin Team - Keller Williams Integrity First Realty )

Wonderful reminder that the holidays are right around the corner!

11/02/2007 12:31 AM

by Celeste "SALLY" Cheeseman (RA), e-PRO HAWAII Real Estate & HAWAII Relocation (Century 21 Liberty Homes -Mililani, Hawaii)

I was at the grocery store today and Halloween was just over and they had alread put the Christmas things out! I think they forgot about Thanksgiving!

I love driving around and looking at all the lights!

11/02/2007 12:34 AM

by Linda Scanlan (A Fan of AR)

Quite different from our snowy winter celebrations - I wouldn't mind giving it a try sometime, but always seem to like to stay home over the holidays, then travel somewhere warm in January.

Yours looks like quite a celebration!

11/02/2007 12:40 AM

by Deborah Pearce - Living Spaces - Kelowna Home Staging & Interior Design (Living Spaces Interiors & Home Staging)

Dawn: That is only a sample of the holiday events.

Vincent: I'm sure your kids would love it. I know I love to see all the pretty lights!

Bob & Carolin: Glad you enjoyed the pics.

Sally: They sure are!

Linda: The nice thing about Thanksgiving here is some of the local casino kitchens make an entire meal that you can take home and it is ready to serve or you can eat at the many restaurants that offer Thanksgiving meals. We stay home and cook our turkey on the grill!

Deborah: It is quite a difference from what I was used to but it is a great holiday experience. I came from PA 5 years ago where it was too cold for me to enjoy the holidays. Although, last year we did have snow a couple days before Christmas, which was beautiful on all the palm trees.

11/02/2007 12:58 AM

by Roberta LaRocca - REALTOR® Las Vegas (Keller Williams Realty The Marketplace)

ROBERTA - You beat me to the Christmas pictures!!! Very nice, I just love this time of year! Thanksgiving too!

11/02/2007 06:30 AM

by Charles McDonald / Your Trusted Broker for Charlottesville Real Estate (RE/MAX Assured Properties)

Charles: Can't wait to see your pictures. Make sure there is snow on the lights, that is always so pretty!

11/02/2007 05:53 PM

by Roberta LaRocca - REALTOR® Las Vegas (Keller Williams Realty The Marketplace)

Hey there Roberta!

It's absolutely amazing how fast the year has gone by! But there's nothing like the good ol' holiday spirit to wrap things up :)

11/04/2007 01:20 AM

by Ricardo Bueno - Mortgage Planner (World Wide Credit Corporation)

Ricardo: The year does fly by and the older you get, the faster it goes!

11/04/2007 01:36 AM

by Roberta LaRocca - REALTOR® Las Vegas (Keller Williams Realty The Marketplace)

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