Winter Lights Festival
Location: Las Vegas Springs Preserve, 333 S. Valley View Blvd.; 822-7700.
Time: 5 to 9 p.m. Dec. 11-13 and 18-24
Cost:  $8 adults, $4 children ages 5 to 12 and free for those four and under.
Members half off regular priced admission.
More info: 702-822-7700
Half-million eco-friendly LED lights create colorful and breathtaking displays of nature.

9th annual Gift of Lights
Location: Sunset Park, 2601 E. Sunset Road, Henderson
Time: 5 to 10 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays and holidays and from 5 to 9 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays through Jan. 3
Cost: $13 per vehicle Mondays thru Thursdays and $15 Fridays through Sundays
The Gift of Lights show is a Vegas tradition that is great for your entire family. Celebrate Christmas by seeing over 400 animated and sparkling scenes displays in a the convenience of your vehicle. Enjoy millions of lights, plus holiday arches and tunnels. A Las Vegas tradition that you your kids and your family can’t miss.

16th annual Holiday Cactus Garden
Location: Ethel M Chocolate Factory and Cactus Gardens, 2 Cactus Garden Drive, Henderson
Time: Sundown to 10 p.m. through Jan. 1. Closed Christmas Day.
Cost: Free
More info: 800-680-0150
The three-acre botanical cactus garden that’s decorated with almost 500,000 thousand lights.

Magical Forest
Location: Opportunity Village, 6300 W. Oakey Blvd
Time: Hours are 5:30-9 p.m. Sun. – Thurs. and 5:30-10 p.m. Fri.-Sat. Nov. 21 through Jan. 02.
Cost: General admission $9.50 for adults, $7.50 for kids 3-11.
An adult passport is $16 and a children’s passport is $14 with access to unlimited rides.
More info: 702-225-9627
The Magical Forest is an annual holiday tradition that creates a holiday winter wonderland right here in the desert. Stroll through decorated trees and displays & have your  photos with Santa while enjoying nightly entertainment.

Mystic Falls Indoor Park
Location: Sam’s Town
Time: daily at 6, 8 and 10 p.m. through Jan 2.
More info: 702-456-7777
Mystic Falls Park will feature a winter wonderland show with a 30-foot Christmas tree, over 50 lit trees, three polar bear scenes, holiday music and snow at 6, 8 and 10 p.m. daily Thursday through Jan. 2.

Bellagio Conservatory and Botanical Gardens
Location: Bellagio
Time: Dec. 06-Jan. 2, 2010
Cost: Free
More info: 702-693-7111
Bellagio’s Conservatory and Botanical Gardens’ Shimmering Wonderland is another Las Vegas tradition that your kids will love. Displays include  flying reindeer made from pecans, a polar bear family adorned with white carnations, eight reindeer pulling a present-filled,  sleigh into a snowy sky, a 42-foot Shasta Fir Christmas Tree decked out with thousands of lights and encircled by gigantic holiday ornaments and  a 7-foot-tall  rocking horse and  rail display.

Holiday decor at The Palazzo
Time: Dec. 9 through New Year
The Palazzo has brought in a 16-foot-tall polar bear mother and a 6-foot-tall polar bear baby for the holiday season. The bears are made entirely of white poinsettia named “Polar Bear.”   The gardens will be filled with a variety of poinsettias and 25-foot silver tip pine trees; vines, over-sized pine cones, holiday berries and twinkling holiday lights.

Holiday Events Town Square
More info: townsquarelasvegas.com
Snow in the Square featuring snowflakes and holiday music will be featured through Dec. 23 in the park at Town Square, 6605 Las Vegas Blvd. South.

Hours: 7 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays and 7 and 8 p.m. Fridays through Sundays.
Photos with Santa Claus
Hours: 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Sundays.

The Holiday Nights & Lights community concert series featuring local choirs and music groups from Las Vegas area schools and community organizations will be at 6 p.m. Wednesdays through Dec. 23.

Join Santa and Mrs. Claus on a 7-mile train ride through the desert along the revitalized historic Boulder Branch Line. The train runs on the original tracks that were used to bring supplies to the Hoover Dam construction site in 1931.

Your Kids will get to meet with  Santa and Mrs. Claus on the 45-minute ride. The train departs hourly from 10 AM to and 3 PM on December 5th & 6th. Tickets can be ordered at the  Ticket Office on Saturdays and Sundays starting October 1.

Santa Train Ride Dates:    12-05-09 – 12-06-09
Event Time:    10 AM to and 3 PM (45 min rides)
Location:    Nevada State Railroad Museum
600 Yucca Street
Boulder City, NV 89005
phone: 702-486-5006
Cost:    $2 per ticket

Gift of Lights” at Sunset Park is a drive-through holiday light show that runs from November 13th  through January 3rd. Millions of holiday lights are on display as you drive through festive arches and tunnels with more than 400 animated and sparkling displays. The Gift of Lights show is a  Vegas tradition that is great for your entire family.

Cost: $15 per vehicle Fridays-Sunday and $13 per vehicle throughout the rest of the week.
Discounts: Get $2 off if you bring a bag of gently used items for the Goodwill of Southern Nevada.
Location: Sunset Park, 2601 E Sunset Road, Las Vegas

In case you haven’t already checked it out, The Southern Nevada Museum Of Fine Art recently opened up in the Neonopolis in downtown Las Vegas. The center has a fine art museum, local art, art studios, and an arts center. The Southern Nevada Center for the Arts will has several spaces which local artists to lease.

The art museum, unlike the Mob Museum that the mayor is pushing, is privately funded and could bring a lot of business to the downtown area.  Admission is $3 for the day or $20 for a one year membership.

The owners hope that the new Arts Center will attract more people to downtown Las Vegas. There are also rumors that the Star Trek Experience  is on its way to the Neonopolis, which will attract even more people to the area.

The Grand Opening of the Southern Nevada Center for the Arts is on January 23