I recently went to Las Vegas with 4 girlfriends + spouses for an amazing 24-hour trip. Vegas is crazy and 24 hours is really all you need to get away from the feedings, drop-offs, nap refusals—you know, the not-so-fun parts of parenting. Sometimes it’s good to escape and reboot. And there is no better place than Vegas. So how did I do it? Let me share some tips!
Rally the Crew
Find some friends who need a break. But make sure they are ones you really trust. There is a lot of Venmo-ing (yes, that is a verb now and yes, there was a spreadsheet) and you don’t want to get stuck with a huge bill that no one wants to pay.
Pick one hotel and stay put.
Most of the Vegas hotels these days are equipped with casinos, pools, restaurants, a show, and a club. Pick a hotel that has everything your group wants so you don’t have to spend time (remember you only have 24 hours) and money moving all over the strip.
Make a plan.
Ok, I don’t consider myself to be bossy, but there was definitely a “schedule of events” email that went out. It was simple: This hotel, pool here, dinner here, club here. You just want everyone to be on the same page.
Let your friends have a say.
I sent an email out with two pool options, three dinner options, and club table options with prices listed. Then, everyone weighed in. You can’t send an email to a group of people saying, “Where should we eat?” You and your friends don’t have time for long back and forth emails, and honestly… does anyone really care? It’s Vegas! Everything is fabulous.
Leave on Friday!
Yes, you heard that correctly. This way, the kids are doing their normal daily routine. It might mean less childcare coverage that day and definitely less, “Where’s mom and dad?” We left early Friday and were home by lunch on Saturday.
Pedialyte.
Yes, once a mom, always a mom. This helps with hangovers. So does pizza at 4am…
Allow downtime.
After sunbathing at the pool, everyone needs a few hours to relax before dinner. Remember, when you ate dinner at 8pm? Yeah, you can do that without kids! Some of my friends went to Dry Bar for a blowout, some gambled, and some napped. Then, everyone was ready and refreshed for the night out.
Get an espresso shot after dinner.
Yup, you can yell “shots for everyone” at dinner (Vegas, baby!), but they need to be espresso shots before you hit the club. You are probably entering this Vegas trip sleep deprived anyway, so partying to 4:00 AM (Yes, I did that!) won’t be easy. An espresso shot at dinner saved the night!
Get a table at the club.
Remember in your younger years, waiting in line forever at the club. Who cared? No one! But now you are older, and you don’t want to waste your precious kid-free time. If you can swing it, get a table and skip the line.
Just do it!
You can come up with 100 reasons not to do this but don’t. You won’t regret it! You deserve a break!
P.S. We stayed at the Wynn (which is connected to the Encore). We rented a cabana at the Encore Adult Pool during the day, we ate dinner at the SW Steakhouse at the Wynn, and we rented a cabana at Club XS at the Wynn. Piece of cake!
Editor’s note: This article originally published on September 11, 2018 and was lightly edited prior to republishing.
