Every year around Christmas just a few hours north from us there is a train ride called the Polar Express that takes you to the North Pole. You go in your pajamas, drink hot chocolate and cookies, and Santa pays a visit and hands out bells to all the children. On the train ride the outside is decorated with lights and Christmas scenes and when you finally reach the North Pole you see all the elves getting the presents ready for delivery.
We took the kids last year and our daughter was in hog heaven. (Our son was only 6 months old and slept through most of it). She was thrilled to meet Santa, get a bell, drink hot chocolate, and best of all play in the snow. She has been talking about it ever since. In fact, she has been talking about all things Christmas: lights, reign deer, Santa, elves, Christmas trees, snowmen, baby Jesus, and the list goes on. (Ironically, she says very little about presents). I have never seen a kid so dedicated to one season, twelve months out of the year.
So, again this year we have made plans to head to the North Pole in December. We are going about a week earlier than we did last year so I'm hoping we will still have plenty of snow. My sister and her family went last year around the time we are going this year and there was no snow. Our fingers are crossed!
I bring this up, realizing we are two months away, because my daughter informs her brother on a daily basis that we are going to go on the train and get a bell from Santa. He nods and mimics her excitement, although I doubt he has any idea what she is so stoked about. Daily she pulls out the blanket that I recently made her and tells me that she will be taking that one on the train to keep her warm. I just hope this ride lives up to everything she is expecting it to.
What holidays or events are most exciting to you or your children? Any special traditions or events you attend each year?
6 comments:
We are taking our children this year too. A friend at work talked about how much fun they had. Although we are not staying the night, we are hoping to head up very early to play in the snow. Like you said, we can only cross our fingers. In October we are going to a local family farm for Halloween. In my hometown, a neighborhood decorated thier houses for the Christmas season. We hope to make it there as well. My son loves the lights.
We share many of the same traditions, Stacy. We got to the pumpkin farm every year and the kids have a blast. I'll email you...maybe we are going on the same date. :)
Every year we attend a Christmas Eve mass, and afterwards a live nativity is set up outside the church ... stable, donkey, sheep, the works. It's quite moving.
I decorate every room in the house. Even the bathrooms are not spared from my creative touch. My childhood memories of ice skating on a nearby lake in Michigan on Christmas Eve always make me smile.
We go through certain neighborhoods to look at lights every year. We also cut down our own Christmas tree. On Christmas Eve we watch the children's program at church and sing carols. I love that time of year.
Sounds like much fun. We have a Christmas Eve party every year with my parents, my brothers and sisters and their families. It is a lot of fun. My one brothers wife always deinks too much and is passed out somewhere by 8 pm. Good times.
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