Last night we were lucky enough to be invited to ride the Polar Express. Did you know the Polar Express runs in Lindon, UT? Yeah. Me neither. But it does.
One of my PTA colleagues and dear friends invited us to come to their family's annual Christmas activity. Her parents, siblings, their spouses, and the kids work together and put on quite a production. We showed up and checked in--we had reservations for the 9:05 ride. We watched a portion of the Polar Express movie in their "barn" (the classiest, nicest barn I have ever seen...even better than many a 'shop' I've been in).
Then our names were called and we were boarded on the train. The train travels all around their family compound...they have their homes all around with a central family recreation area. It was like a grand children's heaven!
After a short ride we made it to the North Pole where we met the jolly old elf himself, along with several helpful and cheery elves. We chatted briefly with Santa, and took a family picture together.
After our photo and chit-chat, Santa gathered all the riders together and asked the children to help their parents to believe. Then he had a chance to tell us that while he loves celebrating Christmas, the best reason to celebrate isn't just his anticipated visit but that Jesus's birth makes all the difference. Then he invited the children to listen closely to the music on the return trip and to watch the pictures we would see.
On the return trip, we passed many, many illuminated posters of Jesus's birth and life and atonement and resurrection. It reminded us that the reason Christmas is so joyous and wonderful is that Christ's mission on the earth provides us with the assurance of our own resurrection and the chance to live with God again. It was a lovely culmination of the evening.
On a side note: Happy Birthday today to Jane Austen! Even Goggle was celebrating:
1 comment:
We went there last night. It was great! I love how it ended with everything about Christ.
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