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Rockefeller Center has the giant Christmas tree next to their ice rink.

Washington D.C. has the Pageant of Peace, which is a large tree surrounded by smaller trees representing the individual states, and the White House Christmas tree.

Even though we have never celebrated Christmas in the usual manner, back East, those two things were always our “Christmas tradition”. It doesn’t matter what your beliefs are, the displays are just cool.

When I moved to Los Angeles, the tradition was in Downtown. California Plaza always had a huge model train collection with a big tree and live concerts every weekend, and Pershing Square (also Downtown) would have fake snow shipped in so that the kids could build snowmen, etc.

Every city has its own.

Since moving to Las Vegas, we’ve always hit the Bellagio on the first Sunday in December to see the new Conservatory Christmas display. It’s become our “Vegas Holiday” thing.

That, and going to see the Fremont Street and Bellagio Fountain Christmas shows.

Our yearly holiday routine is the Conservatory soon after Thanksgiving, and the Fremont light show on Christmas Eve.

It’s a uniquely Vegas thing to do.

In years past at the Bellagio, we have usually been presented with some fairly elaborate displays. Huge polar bears and penguins, animatronics, and a large amount of visual effects.

That being the case, when we headed over there this morning, we were expecting something great and new … as we have come to expect such excesses from the Bellagio.

Unfortunately, it appears that the Bellagio Conservatory has fallen victim to the economic realities of Las Vegas as a whole.

If you compare it to the 2006 and 2007 displays, you will see that is has been scaled back quite a bit.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s still very nice. They brought back the giant tree, the reindeers, and they still have the water bridge and some decorative snowmen, but gone are the animations. This display is the most low key of all of the Christmas displays I have personally seen this decade.

Last year Caesars’ Palace ditched their Christmas tree, and got rid of their ice rink, and I suppose it should have been a harbinger of things to come.

Nobody wants to throw a lot of money around right now on decorations and displays that don’t provide an immediate return on their investment.

As tourists gamble less and less here in town, getting people from the street and into the casinos with external displays seem to have become a slightly lower priority.

This is not just a Vegas phenomenon.

Large corporations across the USA are scaling back, or eliminating Christmas parties altogether. Christmas bonuses are shrinking, and people are just happy to have some kind of job now.

However, places like the Bellagio have almost always been impervious to such belt-tightening in the past. I think it says something about where we are right now as not only a city, but as a country in general. We’re all scaling back.

That being said, it’s still the frigging Bellagio.

All is not lost. Not by a long shot.

The fountains are still cranking out water ballets in front, the poker room is still full, gamblers are yelling at the craps table, and people are still waiting in line to check in to one of the finest hotels in the nation.

It’s not really disappointing, I would just describe it more as anti-climatic.

They simply set the bar extremely high early in the decade, and spoiled the locals during the high-flying boom period.

A low-key Bellagio display would still be the nicest thing in town if it were put up in Cleveland, so while I certainly notice a significant difference, most tourists will probably still be thrilled to see the display. It is absolutely still worth seeing.

It still costs nothing, and it still provides some of the best holiday photo opportunities in the city.

And let’s face it, after Caesars gave the axe (literally) to The Strip’s tree, this is as close as you are going to come to “Christmas Spirit” here in the Las Vegas Valley … even if the “snow” men are made of flowers.

Las Vegas is not New York, D.C., or Boston. People who like the “holiday cheer” stuff would hate it here.

In the months leading up to the winter holidays, Las Vegas really doesn’t look any different. There are few decorations hanging from light poles, and the casinos really don’t do much to set the mood. December in this city looks like March for all intents and purposes.

At this point, the Bellagio is pretty much all we have left to let us know that the holidays are approaching. Hopefully 2009 will be a little more prosperous, and they can bring back the animated bears … which have always been my personal favorite.

What can I say? I’m easily amused.

By the way, it has also been revealed that the New Years Fireworks will be drastically scaled back this year for “safety reasons”, and they won’t be launched from the roofs of hotels anymore. Apparently, you will not be able to see the fireworks unless you are on The Strip directly, and even then … they will be much less elaborate than in years past.

The Grinch is alive and well, my friends, and this Winter, he is vacationing in Las Vegas.

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