With Christmas only two days away, we decided to head out early in the evening to explore the holiday light exhibits that can be found all over town.
Perhaps the most dramatic can be found at Ethel M's Chocolates as you can see below...
Okay, maybe it looks pretty lame when we used a flash to take a picture of everyone.
Instead, look the exact same picture with the flash turned off...
In addition to having some of the best, most rich chocolate you'll ever find, Ethel M's is home to a botanical cactus garden which they dress up with Christmas lights...
Of course, one might wonder about the wisdom of wandering around in the dark with dimly lit cacti everywhere, but hey, everything is just fine -- as long as the kids go first.
After walking through the gardens at Ethel M's, we decided to head through what is regularly considered one of the top ten largest holiday lights displays in the nation. The Clark County parks department transforms Sunset Park into the "Gift of Lights" holiday exhibit.
A winding drive-through trail goes through the park which is decorated with some 300 light displays and over 8 million bulbs.
Can you imagine the electric bill?
Of course, you'll be glad to know that the commercialization of Christmas is now complete. To defray costs of this enormous exhibit, local companies have long been asked to sponsor the exhibit.
Now, just like "product placement" in the movies, the sponsors have become part of the exhibit.
With apologies for some of the blurry pictures (Malia got up from her carseat and was jumping for joy on my lap as we slowly meadered through the park), here is the modern version of Christmas lights...
The Las Vegas Review Journal, of course, which printed the guide to the lights. Followed by...
Then Southwest Airlines, and on to...
CPR, a consulting firm, then...
RC Willey, the West Coast electronics store, then on to...
Carl's Jr., the West Coast version of Hardees, followed by...
Meecham and Associates, another consulting firm, then...
CBS Outdoor, the new cable channel, followed by...
A Destination Travel, then...
Port of Subs, then...
NBC Channel 3, then...
US Bank.
The company logos have themselves become a symbol of Christmas when put in lights!
Of course, this being Las Vegas, there did have to be a few unique light exhibits. Consider this one...
A Christmas Elvis -- Viva Las Vegas, baby.
Then that other great local icon...
Liberace in lights.
Then some of the displays started getting a bit strange. Consider...
A Christmas lizard. Okay.
Then they had displays of famous structures from around the world...
The Golden Gate Bridge, the Leaning Tower of Piza, the Eiffel Tower, and on the far right, the great Sphinx of Giza.
Yes, the same Great Sphinx of Giza which was constructed completely by slaves.
Maybe they were Christmas slaves.
Then there was our personal favorite...
A Mayan Temple. As in the place upon which the Maya people conducted human sacrifices to their gods.
Ah, those wonderful Christmas memories.
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