Friday, Dec. 26, 2003 | 11:35 a.m.
On the holiest day of the Christian calendar, residents in other cities spend the day visiting family and friends, going to church or trying out new gifts. Those traditional activities occur in Las Vegas as well, but the choices are so much more varied.
Where else can someone spend Christmas Day shopping, gambling in a casino, betting legally on football or having a choice of playing in the snow or playing a round of golf?
Some diehard golfers could be seen fighting the rain Thursday afternoon at Desert Pines Golf Course.
Glen Hall and his son Jason, both of Philadelphia, decided to tough out the storm and were determined to finish their Christmas Day round.
Jason, who turns 18 today, wanted to try out his new golf clubs, which were a Christmas present. He and his father came to Las Vegas for Christmas vacation.
"We go somewhere every year for Christmas," he said. "Last year we went to Florida. This year we came to Vegas and we're staying at the new tower of the Mandalay Bay."
Hall said he and his father wanted to go golfing, while his mother and two sisters were shopping on the Strip. The family had already opened their Christmas presents before coming to Las Vegas, he said.
"We opened our presents before we came so I could get my golf clubs and bring them," he said. "We've had a great Christmas. We've been eating all day. That's what we do, eat and travel."
Head for the hills
Visitors and local residents who were dreaming of a white Christmas had the option of heading up to Lee Canyon at Mount Charleston on Thursday afternoon to sled, build snowmen and make snow angels.
George and Melissa Fox took their daughter, Brooke, there to join relatives who were snowboarding and sledding down the snowy hills.
George Fox said coming to Mount Charleston for sleigh rides has become a Christmas tradition for his family.
"We've come here for the past three years," he said. "This is Brooke's second year here. She loves it."
Lisa Hoover, Brooke's aunt, said the day had an added significance.
"Today is Brooke's third birthday, so she was a Christmas baby," said Lisa Hoover, Brooke's aunt. "They brought her to Melissa in a Christmas stocking at Sunrise Hospital."
Special present
That Christmas baby tradition continues at local hospitals.
Local residents Jill and Steve Reed were among the parents who got that best Christmas season present of all this year -- a healthy baby. Theirs is a boy they named Connor.
The couple was excited Christmas morning that they would be able to go home from the hospital in the afternoon, in time to celebrate with family and friends.
"All of our family is here, even my sister from San Francisco, who brought the rain with her," Jill Reed said. "They are all waiting for us at home. They are so excited to see him."
Also waiting at home was Steve's 4-year-old son, Christopher.
"He's excited," Steve Reed said. "He's going to make a great big brother."
Steve Reed, a housing assistant at Nellis Air Force Base, pointed out that baby Connor had his mother's chin. The 2-day-old infant lay in his mother's arms, snuggled into a blue and white blanket his aunt crocheted.
A day for prayer
And thousands of people in Las Vegas made the traditional trek to churches on Christmas. The parking lot of Our Lady of Las Vegas was packed for morning Mass.
Mike Springer, a Metro Police officer involved with the Las Vegas DARE program, brought his family of six to the church near Alta and Rancho drives, a Christmas tradition for his family since he moved to Las Vegas five years ago.
Springer was joined Thursday by his wife, Trudy, and four children, Ryan, 10, Kelleen, 9, Winnie, 5 and Mary Kate, 3.
After the service, he said they were "going home to relax, play some family football and enjoy a movie together," he said. "We're going to watch 'Freaky Friday,' a movie the kids got for Christmas."
Springer said Christmas was a day for family.
"It's a day for family more than anything else," he said. "We got together with our entire family last night and are today is more for immediate family. It's been a great Christmas."
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