12 Christmas Things That Mean Something Very Different in Las Vegas

By Scott Roeben, on December 24 2021

Las Vegas knows a thing or two about Christmas. In fact, Sin City’s biggest export is merriment. Some Christmas traditions and terms, though, mean something entirely different in the context of Las Vegas.

Here’s a Las Vegas take on some common holiday terms.

1. Holiday Spirit

In Las Vegas, a spirit tends to mean a “strong distilled liquor.” Important distinction.

A little something for when the weather outside is frightful.

2. Stocking Stuffer

Innocent Christmas traditions often lose their innocence in Sin City. In this instance, it’s not that kind of stocking.

Stripper — Warning: In Vegas, stuffing a stocking may result in unintended pregnancy or extreme sticker shock. Or both.

3. Donning Gay Apparel

“RuPaul’s Drag Race Live Las Vegas” runs at Flamingo and nobody’s ever not had a blast at a drag show.

RuPaul's Drag Race Live Flamingo — Joy abounds, even for us “breeders.”

4. Jingle Bells

Bells were one of the earliest slot machine symbols, and in Las Vegas, that jingle is the sweet sound of coins hitting the hopper.

Jingle Bells slot machine — The “Jingle Bells” song is actually named “One Horse Open Sleigh,” and was intended to be a Thanksgiving song.

5. Holly

Elsewhere in the world, people hear “holly” and think Christmas. In Las Vegas, we think of Holly Madison, former star of “The Girls Next Door,” “Holly’s World” and “Peepshow” at Planet Hollywood. Holly’s still making headlines.

6. Frosty

It rarely snows in Las Vegas, so when we hear “Frosty,” we don’t think of snowpersons, we think of cold brews.

Twin Peaks beer — The potential for frostbite is completely worth it.

7. Yule Logs

If you’re in the Las Vegas state of mind, this is what leaps to mind when you hear “yule logs.” The Chippendales!

8. Decorative Balls

All due respect to Christmas, our High Roller Ferris wheel’s balls are epic.

High Roller wheel — The High Roller is the world’s second tallest observation wheel. It’s still awesome.

9. Noël, Vixen, Comfort and Joy

Some hear those words and think, “Merry Christmas!” In Las Vegas, we tend to think “stripper names.” Please tip generously during the holidays, folks, these young women are working their way through college. Probably.

strippers — The good news is that, like Rudolph, they’ll go down. In history!

10. Wise Men

In the nativity story, they’re wise men. In Vegas, they’re wise guys. It’s probably wise to keep the two groups separate, otherwise you’ll have goodfellas skimming the myrrh or roughing up the drummer boy for some extra vigorish.

Mobsters — Mob protection rackets are known for keeping alive the tradition of “we won’t go until we get some.”

11. Christmas Cards

You do Christmas your way, we’ll do Christmas ours.

Blackjack — Please, Santa, more blackjacks. We’ve been relatively nice.

12. All is Bright

All is rarely calm in Las Vegas, but it’s always bright, thanks to neon (and the occasional LED). In fact, Las Vegas is one of the brightest places on Earth.