Polar Express

*****

by Chris Van Allsburg

I’m joining Jain at Food for Thought, her wonderful blog for people who love both the written word and the foods mentioned within the books.

I’m also joining Beth's Poinsettia Party at her beautiful Food as Art blog.

Her party runs from Dec. 5th through the 15th, so won't you please pop over & join her, too?

The Polar Express is the magical story of one Christmas Eve many years ago.
A boy lies in bed, listening hard for the bells of Santa’s sleigh,
which he has been told by a friend do not exist.
Later that night he hears not bells but a very different sound.
He looks out of his window and is astounded to see a steam engine parked in front of his house.
The conductor invites him to board the Polar Express,
a train filled with children on their way to the North Pole.
The boy and his companions journey past tiny towns and forests full of wild creatures.
They travel up and around mountains and across the Great Polar Ice Cap
to the magical city at the North Pole.
The train takes the children to the center of the city,
where Santa and the elves have gathered for the giving of the first gift of Christmas.
The boy is chosen to receive this first gift.
Knowing that he can choose anything in the world,
he decides on a simple gift: one silver bell from Santa’s sleigh.
Santa cuts a bell from a reindeer’s harness and
the delighted boy slips it into his bathrobe pocket
as the clock strikes midnight and the reindeer pull the sleigh into the sky.

When the children return to the train,
the boy realizes the bell has fallen through a hole in his pocket.
Heartbroken, he is returned to his home.
In the morning, his little sister finds one small box
with the boy’s name on it among the presents below the Christmas tree.
Inside is the silver bell!
The boy and his sister are enchanted by its beautiful sound,
but their parents cannot hear it.
The boy continues to believe in the spirit of Christmas and
is able to hear the sweet ringing of the bell even as an adult.

We took our whole family on the Polar Express excursion a few years ago on Ohio's Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad, one of the oldest, longest & most scenic tourist excursion railways in the country.
It is a private, volunteer supported, non-profit organization operating in partnership with Cuyahoga Valley National Park & dedicated to the preservation of passenger rail transportation in Cuyahoga Valley and the Historic Ohio & Erie Canalway.

Each year, starting around Thanksgiving, they offer tickets,
via a lottery system, for the Polar Express train ride experience.

Pajama clad families board the Cuyahoga Valley train for this magical Polar Express journey!
This fun-filled evening excursion includes hot cocoa & cookies, a reading of the classic story,
a lighted North Pole Village, caroling & a visit from Santa himself -
all set to the music soundtrack of the motion picture!

Our train car's Elf was named 'Emily'. She was there to apply pink fairy dust to everyone's cheeks.

'

You can just imagine the scene when the conductor walks through the station,
with his lantern swaying, looks at his pocket watch then starts
calling out in a very loud booming voice

"ALL ABOARD!!!"

The kids are literally dancing with excitement!

They can barely settle down to listen to the story after they

are told that Santa will be meeting up with the train soon.

After the reading of the Polar Express story & while the train is still moving,

the children have a Pajama Party Parade

up & down the aisles & are then treated to

hot cocoa & homemade cookies from the elves.

Once Santa comes on board, each child gets to sit on his lap &

tell him what they would like for Christmas.

They are each given a little keepsake bell, in keeping with the story line.

We bought a souvenir Polar Express mug to commemorate the excursion &

every year I get it out to enjoy some tea or hot chocolate while we read the book to the

grandkidlets.

Here it is arranged with my poinsettia Christmas teapot (Thank you, sisters!)

on a little table in the sunroom.

This shows a close up of my free motion quilting on this little table runner that I made a few years ago.

I used gold metallic thread, a metallic needle, dropped the feed dogs &

then I just followed the lines in the poinsettia flower.

It gave the runner a nice touch of bling...I do ♥ bling, especially at Christmas!

Here is a little hint...if you place one Dove chocolate in the bottom of the cup before you pour in the hot liquid, it makes for an especially decadent treat!

Look at the snow we had overnight!!

Perfect day to snuggle down with a book, a quilt & a cup of hot cocoa.

Be sure to try the elves Merry Mint Patties, too...only available at Christmas & DELICIOUS!!!

I used my embroidery machine to do the little Christmas tree on this hemstitched towel,

then threaded the narrow silk ribbon through every other opening, using a bodkin.

The Polar Express reminds children and adults alike that the world is full of wonder—

all one must do is look for it, listen, and believe.

If you ever get a chance to go on a Polar Express excursion with your children or grandchildren,

I highly recommend it.

The kids still talk about it every year.

Maybe its not too late to put our names into the lottery again this year?

Do you think the 14 year old grandson will still want to go, too?