Cowboy Christmas

By Patrick Everson

Cowboy Christmas continues to be an absolute can’t-miss event. Certainly for the vendors, who often get a nice year-end influx of business, while also cementing customer relationships that can extend far beyond these 10 days in December.

It’s also can’t-miss for all the rodeo fans, who can do one-stop shopping at this massive two-floor event inside the Las Vegas Convention Center’s South Hall.

Anything you can think of that’s strongly or even remotely tied to rodeo, you can find it at Cowboy Christmas, which this year has a new presenting sponsor in Pro Fantasy Rodeo.

“It’s the same for everybody on the floor. It’s key for everyone,” said Charlee Read, executive assistant for Gigi Pip, which sells and customizes cowboy hats for women. “If you’re serious in the Western industry, you are here. If you want a future in the Western industry, you are here.”

Cowboy Christmas is a decades-long and ever-expanding staple of the Wrangler NFR in Vegas. Gigi Pip is in its fifth year on the floor of this cowboy/cowgirl/Western lifestyle expo, co-located with the RMEF Hunter & Outdoor Christmas Expo.

The event provides a Christmas boost for Gigi Pip and its partner business Two Roads Hat Co., which customizes baseball caps.

“Sales are great. This is one of our largest events of the year, and it’s one we don’t miss,” Read said, while noting Gigi Pip’s clever motto, inscribed in each hat it sells. “For the woman who wears many hats.

Gigi Pip is based in Kaysville, Utah, just north of Salt Lake City. It’s a small business, but it’s presence on the convention center floor is growing, as more customers get familiar with the brand.

“We have people from across the country who come here specifically to make a hat. They’ll set it up with us beforehand,” Read said. “It’s humbling and cool. And it’s fun to see people spot us and seek us out, among all these other vendors.”

On the flip side of Gigi Pip is Ariat, the big cowboy boots and apparel company, which has a large footprint at Cowboy Christmas. But the goal is the same: Meeting consumers face-to-face, looking to make them long-term customers, while providing a unique shopping experience.

Jeff Winstead and his family traveled from Bend, Oregon, for the NFR, his third straight year doing so, and Cowboy Christmas is a must each year. But it was son Jake’s first trip to Vegas, and on his 18^th birthday no less.

While checking out Ariat’s goods, both were duly impressed by the size and scope of Cowboy Christmas.

“The first year, I was shocked beyond belief at how big this was. I was just in awe. The availability of product is incredible,” Winstead said.

Added Jake, as he tried on – and dad ultimately purchased – a new pair of cowboy boots:

“We went on the second floor first, and it was crazy to see all the vehicles and all the trailers. Then we came down here to the first floor, and it’s just huge. It’s crazy how much stuff is here and how many people are shopping.”

Crazy is certainly one way to describe it. Convenient is probably the best way. Because once you go to Cowboy Christmas, you won’t need to go anywhere else to stock up for the holidays.