A guide to NFR’s 7 Western gift shows in Las Vegas

For 10 days every December, it’s one of the toughest tickets in town.

The National Finals Rodeo draws an average of 170,000 people to the valley each year. Only about 17,500 can be packed into UNLV’s Thomas & Mack Center for each evening’s performance — and the waiting list for balcony seats, which are the only ones available, extends six to seven years.

But there’s no need to despair, rodeo fans. A panoply of cowboy-related attractions are scheduled over those 10 days, including other rodeo events, exhibitions, watch parties, personal appearances, live entertainment and more.

And let’s not forget the shopping. This year, seven Western gift shows will be spread across the tourism corridor during the NFR. They’re an opportunity to do a little early holiday shopping or find what you need to stock your ranch — or your dreams. And admission to all of them is free.

500K square feet of Christmas

The granddaddy is Cowboy Christmas, which dates to 1986 and will run from Dec. 5 to 14 in the South Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center. Last year, 370,000 people came through its turnstiles to shop for Western-style boots, hats, clothing, furniture, artworks, ranch equipment and just about anything else imaginable.

Bo Gardner, vice president of corporate marketing for sponsor Las Vegas Events, said the show started at the Tropicana before moving to Cashman Center and then the convention center. He called it a logical complement to the NFR.

“Most rodeos have a gift show,” he said. “San Antonio, RodeoHouston, Calgary — all of them have a gift show during the day, before the evening events.”

This year, Cowboy Christmas will have 500,000 square feet with more than 350 exhibitors on the first and second levels of the South Hall. Show manager Cheryl Kocvara said the waiting list for exhibitors is currently at about 520.

“Some of the exhibitors have been with us since day one,” she said. “Some of them like to talk about how they started in a tiny 10-by-10 booth and now have 600 square feet.”

(One note: Because this year’s show will have a 55,000-square-foot tented area for the Junior World Finals, which will limit parking, organizers suggest attendees use ride-sharing services, the Las Vegas Monorail or the Las Vegas Convention Center Loop.)

‘The real cowboys’

While Cowboy Christmas is the official gift show of the NFR, Steve Stallworth, general manager of the South Point Arena & Equestrian Center, said the Western Gift Show, running Dec. 3 to 15, is also a major attraction during the event.

The show, which started in 2006, is smaller and focuses on the Western lifestyle. Produced by the hotel-casino, it will have 80,000 square feet in the exhibit hall and 50,000 in the arena concourse, with more than 150 vendors.

“It started off small and then just took off like fire,” Stallworth said. “I wish we had another 100,000 square feet. We could sell it out in two seconds.”

He said the booths offer wares such as custom-made spurs, ropes, tack supplies and saddles.

“We’re kind of getting the real cowboys,” he said. “It’s smaller booths with unique handcrafted mom-and-pop styles,” including clothing and home decor.

‘Take it up a notch’

On the other end of the tourism corridor is the Downtown Christmas Expo, which will be at the Plaza from Dec. 5 to 14. It was created in 2018, said Michele Evans, vice president of sales, catering and the Core Arena at the Plaza, and Natashia White, the property’s director of marketing.

“Natashia and I saw an opportunity to do something unique,” Evans said. “We didn’t just want to be another expo; we wanted to take it up a notch.”

To that end, the show is just over 20,000 square feet of a curated selection of booths offering mostly handmade goods such as jewelry crafted from spent ammunition; drinking vessels and vases fashioned out of animal horns; as well as vintage clothing, boots and home goods such as cowboy-print dishes from the 1950s and ’60s.

“We have apparel, of course, but more handmade goods,” White said.

Many of the businesses are startups, Santa’s there daily from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., and the property validates parking with a purchase.

‘Like McDonald’s’

Group W Productions, based in Weatherford, Texas, produces the remaining four shows. Company owner Chris Woodruff said Country Christmas at the Rio will have “hundreds and hundreds of booths” — he estimates 700 — when it runs from Dec. 5 to 15. He said the show dates back 31 years, when it was “one of the destination shows” at the Sands. He said it’s characterized by “Western lifestyle flair” with merchandise including furniture and exotic hunting items.

New Rio owner Dreamscape Companies LLC has spent “a huge amount of money” remaking the hotel, Woodruff said. “We’re branding it as the new destination for NFR,” he added.

Cowboy Marketplace, at the Horseshoe from Dec. 5 to 14, is in its second year. Merchandise will include hats, boots and “lots of horse trailers,” Woodruff said.

Rodeo World at Resorts World, which launched in 2021, is a smaller show with fewer than 100 booths, running from Dec. 5 to 14.

Also, he said there will be a merchandise component to the All In Barrel Race, which runs from Dec. 5 to 15 at The Orleans.

“It’s not a huge, megaevent,” Woodruff said, but it does give attendees a chance to get up close and personal with horses. Exhibitors will offer hats, boots, apparel and other merchandise, he added.

Woodruff also is a sponsor of Cowboy Christmas, in addition to producing these four shows.

“I kind of look at it like McDonald’s,” he said. “We’re strategically located in different venues.”

And he’s sure of one thing.

“The past 31 years have expanded the footprint of what NFR is in Las Vegas,” he said. “It brings more people, which is the goal. The bigger the party, the bigger the event.” ◆