The Polar Express

Last night, we rode the North Pole Express.

What a fun outing! The train departed at 6pm. Santa's elves read the The Polar Express book by Chris Van Allsburg, while the children ate sugar cookies and drank chocolate milk. Each child was given a little bell tied onto a red string. Then, all passengers and elves sang Christmas carols. When we arrived at the "North Pole", Santa boarded the train. As Santa walked through the train cars, he awarded each child a candy cane.

After the experience at the mall yesterday morning, I expected Dagny and Valerie to panic if Santa came too close.

Fortunately, no one in our group grew hysterical! If it weren't for the candy canes, I don't think either of the girls would have been so amicable to the dear old man in red.

From the picture below, it's easy to gauge the temperature of the reception the girls gave him!

Live and In Person

Today, we went to see Santa Claus at the mall. We had other business to attend to at the mall, so I explained to the girls that Santa would be there. If they would like, each of them could talk to him, tell him what they wanted for Christmas and even have their picture taken with him. With all of the excitement typical of a little child, both girls were quite enthusiastic!

As we parked the car and walked through the automatic doors, Valerie and Dagny boasted about all of the things they intended to tell jolly ole Saint Nick. It seemed as though I would probably have to tear them out of Santa's lap to give other children a chance before Santa's next break.

That was until we neared the center of the mall and saw the colossal display, including a snow man, reindeer, a two-story Christmas tree, gigantic candy canes. We walked to the front of the display and I showed them where Santa was sitting. At that moment, two little boys were lucky enough to get their picture taken with the man in red.

Suddenly, Dagny nearly pulled my pants down, as she gasped, "Mommy, carry me!"

Likewise, Valerie stopped in her tracks. I moved closer to the fence separating the crowd of onlookers from the display. I offered to go with them to visit Santa.

Valerie replied, "No, mom. Let's get out of here!"

So we watched for a few moments, allowing the girls to change their minds. As we left, Valerie's confidence grew and she informed me that she'd prefer to write Santa a letter.