Cowboy Christmas and NFR Las Vegas 2026
Cowboy Christmas fills the South Halls of the Las Vegas Convention Center and the National Finals Rodeo runs at Thomas and Mack, December 3 to 12, 2026. Where each event is located, the concerts worth a night, the early December DJ lineups including Dustin Lynch at XS, and where to eat near each show.
Cowboy Christmas and the NFR 2026: events, nightlife and where to eat
Two big events share the same ten days in Las Vegas, December 3 to 12, 2026, and they are easy to mix up. The National Finals Rodeo is the ticketed one: ten nights of rodeo at the Thomas and Mack Center on the UNLV campus. Cowboy Christmas is the free one: a huge western gift show at the Las Vegas Convention Center on the same dates, which draws plenty of people who never buy a rodeo ticket.
Together they fill the city with groups who travel in numbers and like to eat early. Here is how the week works, what is on around town, and where to eat and go out.
The breakdown
- Cowboy Christmas is in the South Halls of the Las Vegas Convention Center, open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. Free admission, no rodeo ticket needed.
- The NFR is at the Thomas and Mack Center on the UNLV campus, a short drive east of the Strip. Ticketed, ten rounds.
- December 3 to 12, 2026. Concerts around town start a little earlier, on December 1.
- The biggest night of the week is Friday, December 11, when Luke Bryan and Jason Aldean play Allegiant Stadium.
Where each event is located
Cowboy Christmas is in the South Halls of the Las Vegas Convention Center, on Paradise Road at the north end of the Strip. It is open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day of the run, and admission is free.
That 4 p.m. close is worth knowing before you plan anything else. The hall lets out at the same time every day for ten days, and a lot of those shoppers head straight to an early dinner. That is why early-evening reservations are often difficult to get this week. Difficult, not impossible: plan your dinners before you arrive, or tell our Las Vegas team your nights and group size and we will help you find the right table.
The closest properties to the hall are Fontainebleau, directly across the street, and Wynn and Encore, a short walk south. Most of the dining ideas below start there.
The NFR is at the Thomas and Mack Center, on the UNLV campus just east of the Strip. You will be driving to the arena anyway, so dinner does not have to be close to it. Choose the restaurant you want and plan the ride around it.
Events around town
Close to a hundred acts play Las Vegas across these twelve days. These are the ones worth building a night around.
The headline nights
Friday, December 11 · Luke Bryan and Jason Aldean, Allegiant Stadium. One show with both artists on the bill, and the biggest night of the week.
December 4, 5, 11 and 12 · Eagles, Sphere. Not part of the country lineup, but four dates inside the same ten days, so it is worth knowing about before you commit to a night.
Sunday, December 6 and Thursday, December 10 · Riley Green, Resorts World Theatre. Riley Green closed out Country Splash in Cabo this September, and a lot of that crowd told us they are heading to Las Vegas for the NFR.
The rest, by venue
Resorts World Theatre has the most country in one building: Dwight Yoakam on the 3rd, Gary Allan on the 4th, Chris Young on the 5th, and Riley Green on the 6th and 10th.
The Colosseum at Caesars Palace has Rascal Flatts on the 5th and Thomas Rhett on the 10th and 12th.
BleauLive Theater at Fontainebleau has Dierks Bentley on the 4th and 5th, then CREED on the 11th and 12th.
Encore Theater at Wynn has comedian Nate Bargatze from the 9th through the 12th, a good change of pace if the group wants a night off from country.
PH Live at Planet Hollywood has Bailey Zimmerman on the 5th and Koe Wetzel on the 11th. MGM Grand Garden Arena has The Red Clay Strays on the 5th. The Theater at Virgin Hotels has Gavin Adcock on the 10th and Sam Barber on the 12th. Brooklyn Bowl has Turnpike Troubadours on the 11th.
For live country after dinner, Gilley's Saloon at Treasure Island, Ole Red and the International Bar at Westgate have bands on most nights of the run.
For everything else on while you are in town, see our Las Vegas events calendar.
The nightclub calendar
The rodeo crowd is not the usual Strip nightclub crowd, and honestly this is more of a show-and-dinner week than a nightclub week. That said, the early December DJ lineups are strong, and one night brings both crowds into the same room.
Saturday, December 12 · Diplo with Dustin Lynch at XS. This is the one to know about. Dustin Lynch is a country artist on a Strip nightclub bill, on the last Saturday of the NFR. If your group wants one big night out that fits the whole trip, make it this one.
The other nights worth planning around:
- Friday, December 4 · Alesso at Omnia, Kaskade at XS, Knock2 at LIV
- Saturday, December 5 · Zedd at Omnia, Diplo at XS
- Sunday, December 6 · DJ Franzen at Tao, where Sunday is the big night of the week, and DESEO Latin Sundays at Omnia
- Friday, December 11 · Marshmello at XS, the same night as Luke Bryan and Jason Aldean, so it works as a late stop after the stadium
- Saturday, December 12 · Alesso returns to Omnia, the same night as Diplo and Dustin Lynch at XS
Zouk at Resorts World has Redferrin on the 4th and Don Toliver on the 12th.
Monday the 7th and Tuesday the 8th are the quietest nights of the week, which also makes them the easiest nights to get a good table.
For any of these, tell us the night and how many are in your group. Our Las Vegas team will talk through the options with you, quote the table, and once you decide, send a 20 percent deposit link to lock it in.
Where to eat
The easiest way to plan dinner this week is by where the night is headed.
Near Cowboy Christmas
Two properties are an easy walk from the South Halls.
Fontainebleau is directly across the street and has the most choice at that end of the Strip: Mother Wolf for Evan Funke's Roman pastas, Don's Prime for a classic steakhouse, Komodo for Southeast Asian plates built for sharing, and Papi Steak when the group wants dinner with a bit of theater. If you have tickets for Dierks Bentley or CREED at BleauLive, dinner and the concert are in the same building.
Wynn and Encore are a short walk south. SW Steakhouse is Wynn's flagship steakhouse, with in-house dry-aged cuts and a 48-ounce tomahawk for the table. Delilah is a supper club with live entertainment every night, the pick when dinner should feel like a night out. Mizumi is Wynn's Japanese restaurant, for the night the group has had enough steak. Nate Bargatze plays Encore Theater from the 9th to the 12th, so dinner and the show are a short walk apart.
Near Resorts World
Carversteak is in the same resort as the Resorts World Theatre, where Dwight Yoakam, Gary Allan, Chris Young and Riley Green all play during the week. For a big group it has two private dining rooms, the Knife Shop and the Whiskey Room, plus event space for larger parties. On Riley Green's nights, the 6th and the 10th, pre-show tables go quickly, so plan that dinner early.
Near Caesars Palace
Nobu and Peter Luger are both inside Caesars Palace, so dinner before Rascal Flatts on the 5th or Thomas Rhett on the 10th and 12th means no car at all.
Worth the drive
Golden Steer has been open since 1958 and is the oldest steakhouse in Las Vegas. The Rat Pack came here after their shows, their corner is still kept as the Rat Pack section, and the Caesar salad is made at the table. It sits just off the Strip, a short drive from both Cowboy Christmas and Thomas and Mack, and its old Las Vegas feel suits NFR week. Make it the first dinner you plan.
Plan your NFR week
Early-evening dinners and the biggest nights, especially Friday the 11th and Saturday the 12th, are the first to go. Tell us your dates, your group size and what brings you to town, the rodeo, Cowboy Christmas or the concerts, and our Las Vegas team will help plan the week: dinners, nightclub tables and transportation in between.
Build a custom itinerary with our concierge team. Pair the venues mentioned above into a single concierge-confirmed evening. See the full Las Vegas events calendar for every upcoming DJ and pool party across the city.
Las Vegas nightlife and pool guides
Bottle-service pricing and minimums
Exact table minimums and what is included, by venue:
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