the santa train

We started a new tradition this year by getting tickets for the Santa Train to ride the train
with Santa and Ms. Clause to the North Pole and back. We took toys for the Toys for Tots, and
Will and Matt got a photo with the Marine who was collecting them. Will watched in wonder
seeing the train, and all the people lined up to board it. Once on the train, he watched
out the window watching the sights go by. He got scared as Santa approached and jumped
into my lap. Santa was friendly and moved onto the next child, sitting in the seats with the
children for the parents to take photos. We listened to carolers as they sang from the top
deck of the train. Will enjoyed a candy cane while sitting on his daddy's lap. Ms. Clause came
along later, but apparently was a lot less scary than the big guy. Once we were back at the
station, we detrained and Will walked like a big boy back to the car. I am pretty sure he
thoroughly enjoyed his first train ride, and this is another event going on our yearly
Christmas activity list.