A Ride on The Polar Express

Just a Thought

Kids, trains, and Christmas are all loads of fun. When you put them all together and add some hot cocoa, you have the magic of The Polar Express.

As a teacher (and mom) of young children, I read The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg to my kiddos at Christmas time. It was made into a movie about 15 years ago and sometime after that, The Texas State Railroad in Palestine started offering rides to “The North Pole.” The story revolves around a boy who is beginning to doubt the existence of Santa. He is invited to ride the Polar Express which is bound for the North Pole. He receives a golden ticket as he boards and is told it must be presented to the conductor. He meets various characters along the way, all of whom have a story and a lesson for him to learn from. When they arrive at the North Pole, he receives a special gift from Santa – a silver bell that only those who believe can hear when it rings.

Last year, my daughter (Tanya Tousek) and I decided that we wanted to take her kids (Blair and Bailey) on The Polar Express train ride. We checked our schedules, purchased the tickets, bought matching pajamas for the girls and waited until Friday of last week to tell the girls where we were headed.

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