All aboard!!!
This weekend was the amazing Polar Express event by the Vermont Children’s Trust Foundation. This is an event I’ve been looking forward to for months and months and MONTHS!
What’s a mom to do with an event as exciting as the Polar Express?! Make a weekend of it, of course!
Our Polar Express -themed weekend started off with crafts, hot cocoa, cookies and a reading of The Polar Express at Barnes & Noble in South Burlington. They lined the kids up downstairs, gave them name tags and tickets to board the “train”. We all took the escalator up to the second floor and then the train of kids and parents weaved in and out of the aisles of books until being greeted by 2 craft tables, hot cocoa, cookies and a large empty area to sit on the floor. After some crafting and playing, the elf read aloud the magical book while the conductor held the book open to the sea of wide-eyed kids who were entranced with the images. After the story was done, each child received a bell as a token from their Polar Express experience.
Ah-may-zing!
Sunday was an average day until it was Maddie’s bedtime. I went about the normal bed time routine with her while my husband was busy in the kitchen whipping up some hot cocoa, warming up the van, getting coats and boots ready, and waiting for his cue. Once I was done reading Maddie her bedtime book, I yelled to my husband to come in and say good-night. That’s when he started making a whistle sound like a train, and calming yelling “All aboard!”. Maddie’s face lit up just like it did when we first saw the Polar Express train the day before. She asked “What’s that sound? Why is Daddy saying that?”. Once she made it to the kitchen and saw coats and boots lined up by the mudroom, she knew that we were about to go on an adventure. Her exact words? “Are we going on a hot cocoa ride?”
She was so excited to be surprised by something that we’ve done time and time again. We’ve been known to put our pjs on, make some hot cocoa, and ride around town looking at holiday lights quite often during December. Since this weekend was already so magical and memorable, I could tell that this ride would be a special way to end the perfect weekend.
Have you ever been on the Polar Express? Do you and your family go on ‘hot cocoa rides’ to view holiday lights?
And are you as ready for some snow like I am?!?!
I love how you surprised her like that, so sweet! It is really a fun tradition, we did the one in white river jct this year. They do such a good job creating a memorable experience.
Looks like so much fun! And I am SO ready for snow!
How fun! What a great weekend full of memory making!