Downtown Summerlin's Holiday Season Costs Less in November Than in December

The Giving Machine opens at The Promenade this Thursday, Nov. 12, and on Friday the rest of Downtown Summerlin's holiday season opens with it. Rock Rink opens on The Lawn, the Santa Chalet opens in the Macy's Promenade, and the Jupiter Express Holiday Train starts running laps around the rink and the 40-foot holiday tree. A week later, on Nov. 20, the Holiday Parade begins its Friday and Saturday runs on Park Centre Drive. Enchant also opens that night at Las Vegas Ballpark, 1650 S. Pavilion Center Drive.

The Las Vegas Sun's community briefs reported these returning traditions on Nov. 3. Their prices and booking rules follow one schedule. The paid events get more expensive as Christmas gets closer and reward a reservation made early. The biggest free event, the parade, runs only on Friday and Saturday evenings. For someone who lives a few minutes away, the best-value version of the season runs on late-November weeknights, and the parade is the one thing worth saving a weekend for.

The Santa Chalet Price Goes Up Twice

The clearest example is the Santa Chalet, presented by Tri Pointe Homes. It's open daily from Nov. 13 through Dec. 24, Monday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Reservations are required. Walk-ups are limited and depend on capacity. Every photo package includes two printed 5×7s and three digital images. The package stays the same all season, and the price changes by date.

The same photos cost $10 more in the last two weeks than in the first two. Downtown Summerlin's announcement also mentions early reservation incentives and special pricing from Nov. 13 to 25.

Professional holiday family portraits are only offered in that early window. They run Nov. 13–25, during the first and last operating hour of each day, cost $39.99, require a reservation, and can be booked with or without Santa. After Nov. 25 they're gone. A household that wants both a family portrait and a Santa photo at the lowest price has to book both by Nov. 25.

The chalet also has two sessions that don't follow the general booking rush:

• Pet Nights with Santa: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 4 to 8 p.m., Nov. 17 through Dec. 17.
• Sensory Santa: Saturday, Dec. 5, 10 a.m. to noon, for families with sensory needs.

Pet Nights are on weekday evenings, which fits the weeknight pattern. Children's letters can go into Santa's Mailbox at the chalet through Dec. 22. For each letter, Downtown Summerlin and Howard Hughes donate $1 to the Goodie Two Shoes Foundation, up to $2,500.

Rock Rink Saves Its Discount for Weeknights

Rock Rink, presented by Lexus, follows the same pattern. It's an 8,000-square-foot real-ice rink on The Lawn, open Nov. 13 through Jan. 18. The listing promises "special mid-week pricing." Skate rentals are $22, with special ticket pricing on select dates and times. Hours vary, appointments are encouraged, and walk-up access depends on capacity. You can book a time through the Rock Rink reservations page.

Most of the themed skate nights fall midweek too:

1. Nov. 18, Dec. 2, Jan. 6 and Jan. 13: Student Skate Night
2. Nov. 21: A Night with AEG, with country-themed music celebrating the NFR
3. Dec. 10: Frozen Skate Night
4. Dec. 16: Las Vegas Sports Night
5. Dec. 18: A Night with Cirque du Soleil
6. Jan. 7: Glow Night
7. Jan. 14: A Very Swiftie Skate Night

Nov. 21 is a Saturday that also has a parade, so that evening is likely to be crowded. Of the rest, Dec. 10, Dec. 16 and the January dates all land on weeknights.

Las Vegas Ice Theater comes back to the rink with "The Nutcracker at Rock Rink." Performances are Sunday, Nov. 22 at 6 p.m., and the Sunday mornings of Dec. 6 and Dec. 20 at 10:45 a.m. The two morning shows are the only scheduled holiday programming at Downtown Summerlin before noon apart from Sensory Santa.

Sterling's Cocoa Trailer sits next to the ice all season. The Jupiter Express costs $7 a ride for adults and children and circles the rink and the tree through Jan. 18.

Enchant Prices Its Tickets by Demand

Enchant, at Las Vegas Ballpark, makes the timing math most explicit. It returns Nov. 20 through Dec. 27 with a reimagined maze, a new storyline and new photo moments. It bills itself as the World's Largest Christmas Light Maze. Tickets start at $27, but Enchant's own page says prices vary by visit date, entry time and demand. It puts it directly: "The magic isn't selling out. The lowest-priced tickets are."

Every ticket comes with an arrival window, which is the earliest time you can enter. Ice skating, the snow slide, parking and the s'mores pit are add-ons. The theme-night calendar is mostly in late November and early December, and most of those nights fall midweek:

• Fri., Nov. 20: Opening Night Celebration and Kids Light Up The Night
• Sun., Nov. 22: Family Photo Night Out
• Wed., Nov. 25: Friendsgiving
• Sun., Nov. 29: Holiday Sing-A-Long
• Wed., Dec. 2: Country Christmas and Line Dancing
• Fri., Dec. 4: Storybook Night
• Sun., Dec. 6: Paws & Claus
• Wed., Dec. 9: Kids Light Up The Night
• Thu., Dec. 10: Night of Honor

The best-value nights for families are the two Kids Light Up The Night dates. FOX5 reported that Enchant is giving away 2,500 complimentary youth tickets on Nov. 20 and Dec. 9. Anyone who buys at least one adult ticket can add up to two free youth tickets while they last. The second date is a Wednesday, so it fits the midweek pattern too.

What You Can Do Without a Reservation

The Holiday Parade, presented by InTouch Credit Union, starts at 6 p.m. every Friday and Saturday from Nov. 20 through Dec. 19. There's no parade on Black Friday, Nov. 27. This year adds a Polar Express-inspired float and more snow flurries, and Santa still closes the show. That makes nine parade nights:

The parade is the season's main free event, and it runs only on Friday and Saturday evenings, so weeknight bookings rarely compete with it.

Three more items round out the calendar, and one of them falls on a Sunday afternoon:

• Hanukkah with Jewish Nevada: Sunday, Dec. 6, 4 to 6 p.m., on Park Centre Drive, with a menorah lighting, entertainment, kids' activities, hot cocoa and light bites. A menorah will be on display in the Dining Arroyo from sundown Friday, Dec. 4, through nightfall Saturday, Dec. 12.
• The Giving Machine: At The Promenade from Nov. 12 through Jan. 3, during regular Downtown Summerlin hours. Local beneficiaries are Catholic Charities, Foster Kinship, Future Smiles, Helping Hands of Vegas Valley and Three Square. International beneficiaries are Clubfoot Solutions, African Hope for Girls and Lifting Hands International.
• The 40-foot tree: It stands beside The Rock Rink, and the Jupiter Express circles it for $7 a ride.

Putting the Season Together

Here's how those pieces fit together week by week:

1. Week of Nov. 12: Book Santa Chalet and family portrait times now, while the $39.99 rates apply. Visit the Giving Machine on a regular shopping trip.
2. Week of Nov. 16: Go to Pet Nights on Nov. 17 or 19, or Student Skate Night on Nov. 18. Book Enchant for Nov. 20 if the free youth tickets matter, then catch the first parade the same night or Saturday.
3. Thanksgiving week: Enchant's Friendsgiving falls on Wednesday, Nov. 25, the last day of the lowest chalet pricing and the last day for family portraits. The parade skips Black Friday and comes back Saturday, Nov. 28.
4. Early December: Sensory Santa and a parade on Saturday, Dec. 5. Hanukkah, the Nutcracker morning show and Paws & Claus at Enchant on Sunday, Dec. 6. Kids Light Up The Night at Enchant on Wednesday, Dec. 9, and Frozen Skate Night at the rink on Thursday, Dec. 10.
5. Mid-December: Chalet prices rise to $49.99 on Dec. 11. The last parades are Dec. 18 and 19, and Cirque night at the rink is Dec. 18.

For dinner before or after, Finney's Crafthouse at 10955 Oval Park Drive opened its first Las Vegas Valley location on Sept. 21, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal and Eater Vegas. This will be its first holiday season.

Where the parade passes, where the rink lights reflect off the storefronts, and how close a home is to all of it are part of what Summerlin South homeowners live with every December. If you're wondering how that nearness shows up in what your own home is worth, LeBo Luxury can walk you through it. Request a Complimentary Luxury Home Valuation, and Bryan Lebo will give you a confidential read on your property before the new year.