It’s a perfect complement to the NFR activities all week long! If you’re looking for the newest, greatest gifts in Cowboy Christmas, then this is the place. Hundreds of vendors with the latest unique gifts for family and friends are on display. And don’t miss out on your favorite cowboy stars as they make surprise appearances and sign autographs!
2020 Cowboy Christmas
When: December 3 – 12, 2020
Open: 9A.M. until 5P.M. Daily
Where: South Halls of the Las Vegas Convention Center
Recurrence: Recurring daily
Tickets: Free admission
Enjoy over four hours of daily coverage of the “Super Bowl of Rodeo.” Ten days of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, or Super Bowl of Rodeo, brings together the top 15 competitors in seven different rodeo events. Such daily features can be The Buckle Ceremony, Outside the Barrel, and Western Sports Round-Up. From great shopping to interactive displays, the Junior NFR to Flint Rasmussen, there’s something for everyone. Free to the public, Cowboy Christmas will be open 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. daily. To add to the overall experience, RMEF’s Hunter & Outdoor Christmas Expo will be co-located upstairs again this year in the South Halls.
- Rodeo Way Exhibits: his strip of eight rodeo exhibits includes Calgary Stampede, Cheyenne Frontier Days, Corpus Christi, Days of ’47, Indian National Finals Rodeo, Pendleton Round-Up, San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo and Travel Oregon.
- The Great Wall of Rodeo presented by Calgary Stampede: This fun and interactive wall features displays like Where Do You Rodeo?, a graphic of all 120 Wrangler NFR contestants, Stock of the Year recognition, NFR timelines and other elements.
- Coors Rodeo Saloon: Stop in for a little food and drink at the Saloon, located on the east end of Cowboy Christmas in the Las Vegas Convention Center, South Halls. The Saloon will also feature video screens with a replay of the prior night’s Wrangler’s NFR performance.
- Bites & Brews presented by Total Feeds: A series of custom food and beverage carts will be located on the second floor adjacent to the Wrangler Rodeo Arena.
- Wrangler NFR After Dark presented by Cloud Touch: Stop on by the new and improved interactive NFR After Dark exhibit space. This new interactive space will include five Cloud Touch screens, where you can search all the entertainment around town and where to watch the rodeo. You can also play the spin-to-win game where you can win a pair of tickets to 2020 Wrangler NFR.
- NFR Central: You never know who will be stopping by NFR Central this year! This area will feature special guest appearances each day of Cowboy Christmas. There will also be live radio remotes, prizes and more. Did we also mention that Dale Brisby will be sharing this space?Team Hesston will be hosting autograph sessions on Saturday, Dec. 7 from 10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
- Wrangler Rodeo Arena: The arena is located on the second floor of the South Hall, right in the middle of the RMEF Hunter & Outdoor Christmas Expo. For the fourth consecutive year, the Junior World Finals presented by YETI (previously known as the Junior NFR) will be held in Las Vegas. There will be qualifiers and finals in nine events, with various age groups per event.Fans can also catch the Flag Girl Competition and Exceptional Rodeo.
- NFR Extra: Join us upstairs for the newest initiative in 2020 – NFR Extra, a customized studio at Cowboy Christmas capturing unique interviews and insights from the following groups associated with the Wrangler NFR in December:
- Entertainment
- Stock Contractors
- Contestants
- Past World Champions
- Hotel Partners
- Rodeo Committees
- PRCA/Industry
Once the NFR is over, NFR Extra will become an hour-long podcast in 2020 which will air twice monthly and feature icons that make up the rodeo and Western lifestyle.
- Junior World Finals Blvd: Be sure to check out these new areas on the second floor, located within the footprint of RMEF’s Hunter & Outdoor Christmas Expo. These areas are adjacent to the Wrangler Rodeo Arena.
- Bear Knuckles LLC
- Best of Barrels
- Bull Stock Media LLC
- Burromax LLC
- CandyCo
- Chris Ledoux Merchandise
- Copper Spring Ranch
- Crooked Horn Cowboy Protection
- Go Spur 1 Apparel LLC
- Hooey Hats
- Med-Vet Pharmaceuticals
- Purina Animal Nutrition
- Priefert Rodeo & Ranch Equipment
- Ram Rodeo Series
- SaddleBook
- SportChassis LLC
- Spurr’s Bix Fix
- The Broken Cinch
- World Champions Rodeo Alliance
- Rodeo Live Stage presented by RODEOHOUSTON®: There are several new programming elements this year on our Rodeo Live Stage, so make sure to check out the schedule. The daily programming kicks off each day with a recap of the prior night’s Wrangler NFR performance with RFD-TV’s Western Sports Roundup and continues later in the day with the Cowboys for Conservation Calcutta. Beginning at noon and 1:15 p.m., respectively, be sure to catch the many live performances by Flint Rasmussen in “Outside the Barrel” and a new show – Cowboy Revival with host Shane Minor.
- Junior World Finals presented by YETI: For the fourth consecutive year, the Junior World Finals presented by YETI (previously known as the Junior NFR) will be held in Las Vegas. There will be qualifiers and finals in nine events, with various age groups per event.
- RMEF Hunter & Outdoor Christmas Expo: The RMEF Hunter & Outdoor Christmas Expo is the ultimate experience for outdoorsmen and women. Located in the South Halls of the Las Vegas Convention Center and upstairs from Cowboy Christmas, the expo coincides with the ten days of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. Admission is free and open to the public.
Everything you need to know about Cowboy Christmas in Las Vegas
What to Get A Cowboy (or Cowgirl!) for Christmas
- Deerskin Work Gloves
- Muck Boots
- Cowgirl Swank Custom Caps
- Resistol felt hat
- A big ol’ steel tow chain
- Bubba Rope
- Carharrt Coat
- A good, solid pocket knife
Cowboy Christmas Songs
- Geronimo’s Cadillac (1972)
- Cosmic Cowboy Souvenir (1973)
- Michael Murphey (1973)
- Blue Sky – Night Thunder (1975)
- Swans Against the Sun (1976)
- Flowing Free Forever (1976)
- Lone Wolf (1978)
- Peaks, Valleys, Honky Tonks & Alleys (1979)
Clear bag policy
Fans may bring in one (1) clear bag no larger than 12″ x 6″ x 12″ or a 1-gallon plastic storage bag. Fans are limited to one clear bag per person, along with a small clutch bag (no larger than 4.5″ x 6.5″) for privacy.
Todd and Sheila Thorp of Leawood, Kansas, were taking a break for an adult beverage and a chance to sit down at their first Cowboy Christmas at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
“It’s overwhelming,” Todd said, echoed by his wife: “You need to be here all 10 days.”
Indeed. The 32nd event involves nearly 350 vendors whose wares are spread over 444,000 square feet — about seven and a half football fields — in the LVCC’s South Halls. And surprise at the sheer scale was in the air on opening day Thursday, with overheard comments such as:
“This thing goes farther than I can see.”
“It’s a lot to take in, isn’t it?”
And the inevitable: “We haven’t gotten very far yet.”
Best of all, as the Thorps noted, it’s free — although you’ll have to pay $10 to park..
In fact, Cowboy Christmas, which runs through Saturday, may be the best entertainment value in town right now, a wild circus of colors and sparkle and sometimes-frenetic activity that draws about 230,000 people who range from babies in strollers to old-timers using canes.
There are plenty of city slickers but also a heck of a lot of cowboys and cowgirls, like the rodeo stars signing autographs, the guy carrying his son’s saddle over his shoulder on a strap, and the subject of the overheard, “Every time she barrel races …”
The holidays are very much in evidence in displays, decorations and country singers’ carols on the halls’ speakers, but this show is really more about cowboys than Christmas. There’s plenty to see even if you’re not shopping. But if you are, and the item you seek has anything to do with the cowboy lifestyle, it’s probably available here. Consider:
Anything conceivable to outfit a horse, including bridles, bits, tools, colorful tailored blankets with matching fly masks, waterers, slow feed hay nets, flexible rein keepers, saddles ranging from relatively plain to those with finely tooled leather or silver trim and crystals, Impact Gel saddle pads, leather straps with bronze bells attached in a wide range of sizes, ornate bell boots for covering horses’ hooves, (even glittery strips for those hooves), steel corral components, feed and medical supplies.
Or to outfit a cowboy or cowgirl, such as boots, boots and more boots, in an endless array of colors (purple? teal?) and sizes. Cowboy hats, custom hat-making shops, hat-steaming spots and hat cases for travel. Handbags, including the concealed-carry variety. Jewelry. Clothing ranging from T-shirts to finely tailored leather garments. Oilskin dusters. Scarves. Belts. Holsters. Work gloves. Spurs. Fox tails. Books and other material for the Christian roper and barrel racer. A camo or purple beer belt that can hold a whole six-pack.
Or to outfit a ranch, whether it be a suburban tract home or on a massive spread in Texas: Everything for a cowboy Christmas tree, including ornaments, denim or bandanna-print garland and accents such as a $325 hand-pieced cowhide tree skirt. Tooled leather furniture and accessories including chairs, ottomans, stools, benches, buckets and wall hangings. Nevada wild-horse photography. Western photography, paintings and posters. Bronze statuary including a monumental $65,000 stag. Exercise machines. Pendulum swings with canopies. Barrel smokers. Humidifiers (hey, it’s a desert out there). Dishes, silverware, napkin rings, table runners, leather trivets and kitchen tools with handles ornately embossed in the Western style. Rugs of all sizes. Tennessee Moonshine cakes, jams, honey and hot sauce. Large metal ranch signs, and indoor signs that say things like “Live every day like it’s Taco Tuesday” or “Shopping with your husband is like hunting with the game warden.” Make-your-own bourbon, whiskey, Scotch and rum. Vintage coin-operated horse rides, the kind that used to be outside every grocery store in the country. Roping dummies in action, giving kids an opportunity to try their hand. Even NFR 60th anniversary commemorative firearms.
Maureen Frank of Parker, Colorado, walking around with a regulation NFR jacket, said she’s attended the annual event 15 to 20 times, and comes in large part because her favorite jeweler, Ornaments, is an exhibitor.
Veronica Ambriz, who co-owns Ambriz Jewelry in Fredericksburg, Texas, with her husband, Adolfo, has been attending every year since 2000 to offer the couple’s silver, leather and wood creations. She said the show is a collection of mini-cultures that often can be identified by what they’re wearing. A guy in a Stetson is likely to be from Texas or the Southwest, she said, while Montana cowboys wear round hats. Those from Montana also like to wear silk scarves, she said; “in Texas it’s too hot.”
“We love the show,” said Ambriz, who said the couple does the Texas rodeo circuit as well. “Where else do you see, in one spot, so many cowboys from all over — east to west, all over the United States? Every state has their own little culture, but it’s all one big cowboy culture.”