Happy Holidays all! With all the stress of selling our house, I've had a tough time getting myself into the Christmas spirit. I've listened to enough Christmas Radio (105.7) that I may never visit a Crew Carwash again, and I
certainly won't be taking advantage of the "avalanche of savings" from Monica Peck and Courtney Cole at Hare Chevrolet.
However, there's no better way to get in the Christmas spirit than going to Sullivan's Hardware Store. For the second year in a row, we took some time out this week to go enjoy the holiday festivities at the local hardware store near Broad Ripple, and once again, it was just fantastic. It's quickly becoming my favorite tradition.
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| The train at Sullivan's - picture taken from the website. To get a feel for size, those train cars fit 5 or 6 people. |
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Grandma and the boys in the train. This is what Luke does when I tell him to smile. Every time.
He must get that obstinence from his mother. |
The Sullivan's Santa Express is a full sized train with five cars. Each car fits a whole family (we had three adults and two kids easily, and grandparents/etc can walk along the train if they want. The train takes you through several great holiday sets and ultimately ends up at a small house in the North Pole. Santa is there, and with only five families on the train, there's no line, no waiting, and no pressure to hurry. Both boys had plenty of time with Santa, and Luke even had time to ask Santa if he could make a special trip to our house a day early since Mommy has to take care of sick people on Christmas Day. (He said "Of Course", and then called Mommy one of God's Angels because of her profession. Preach, Santa.)
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| Luke and Eli trying to decide if they trust Santa. Quite the cerebral and cautious little boys. |
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| Luke was so happy to see Santa and talk about it. Eli was participatory, but somewhat involuntarily. |
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| The whole family with Santa at the North Pole. This place is so cool. |
After taking the train back to Indianapolis from the North Pole, there are tons of activities in the hardware store itself. Free popcorn, play tables, and best of all, a HUGE train set with all kinds of cool things. My kids could have stood here and watched those trains go around for hours.
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| This train set is amazing! Forget the kids, I want one of these. |
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I love taking any opportunity to talk about STEM with these boys. We looked at the circuits that were
controlling the trains, and we talked about the lights flashing, and what was making the horses go up and down. |
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| Play tables with the coolest "sand" ever. I don't even know how to explain this stuff - it was fluffy and gritty and amazing. |
We had such a blast. The family friendly atmosphere, the local business aspect, and the magic they are able to create are just fantastic. In addition, it's $30 total for the whole family - super affordable. You guys, seriously, if you have young kids you should absolutely go do this. They are nearly sold out for this year, so jump on it quick. Here's the link.
This is just the first of so many fun Christmas activities that we are going to do. Tis the season! I'll leave you with this blurry picture that shows a child's unbridled joy when they see Santa Claus. I hope it is contagious. :)
Sending you and your family peace and relaxing vibes as we enter the busy season.
God Bless,
-Dave
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