We are fresh off a family trip to Las Vegas, and when I say “family,” it was a large chunk of my family…all my siblings + their significant others, my mom, dad, an aunt and some cousins. It was my boys first time to Sin City – a top destination for toddlers, right? LOL! Well, we made the visit for my sister Adrienne’s wedding and we weren’t on “the strip” but in downtown Las Vegas aka Old Vegas.
The wedding festivities were wonderful and we all had a great time. Doing Vegas without kids is one thing…and I hadn’t been since my pre-mommy days, but doing it with the children is a little extra tiring. I mean, they don’t have the “sleeping in” concept, and since we’re in a hotel, you know they stayed ready to go at all times!
Anyway, it was a fun experience and I figured I’d share some of my takeaways from our Vegas vacation.
- Relative Factor – We were fortunate that both my Mom and Dad were in town for the wedding and since we were in the same hotel, it was easy for one of them to pop over and hang out at night, put the babies to bed and stay in the room, so Mommy and Daddy could get some QT and hit the town.
- Fremont Street – Since we were in DTLV and staying at the Downtown Grand, Fremont Street was just a block away. It was easy enough to just walk over there with the kids…there’s lots to look at – okay some of it not kid appropriate, but little shops, restaurants and entertainment right there, PLUS a Walgreen’s. SCORE! There’s also no street traffic, so room for the to roam, a little!
- Adjoining Rooms – There are lots of connecting rooms in Vegas hotels, so we were lucky to have my (not getting married) sister and her boyfriend in the one right next to ours. Let me tell you, our boys were way more interested in hanging out in that room that ours…which provided a little more quiet time for Mommy and Daddy.
- Container Park – The container Park is a great little gathering spot in DTLV with eateries, shops and a playground! There’s a giant treehouse and play area in the center of it all, plus another open space with a stage and large building blocks, so the kids can run around and easily entertain themselves.
- Arcade at MGM – As I mentioned earlier, relatives were in town, so my sister was nice enough to take my older toddler with her to MGM when she wanted to go to Shake Shack, then they took him to the hotel arcade and he had a blast, even winning enough tickets for a Spiderman toy!
- Hotel Pool – Life doesn’t get much better than enjoying the pool with the kids! Our hotel was perfect, not too crowded or deep and the perfect place for them to cool off and have fun.
- In-Room Fridge – We had to pay extra to have this amenity in our room, but it was worth it. You never know what you need to keep cool and with my boys the milk must be on tap at all times.
- No Car Seats – Also worth nothing, we didn’t have to lug car seats around, since we mostly just walked wherever we needed to go and didn’t rent a car. We did take a taxi to the hotel from the airport, and in Vegas (like NYC), when you use a taxi, car seats aren’t required, they just sit in your lap.
This trip was a success and much-needed, so until next time…Viva Las Vegas!