Christmas Train 2009

In 2004, we decided to drive over to Pryor to see The Christmas Train. I was eight months pregnant with Reid, it was cold, but we were hooked. The place is just magical. The next year, they closed for renovations and stayed closed for three years.

Last year, they reopened and we were there. It is officially a Crawley family tradition. This year, I bought the tickets as soon as they went on sale in November and we headed there on Sunday night.


Our first stop was Santa's Palace. Reid talked to Mrs. Claus and asked where the reindeer were - we got conficting answers. Mrs. C. said they were on the roof, but the Santa assistants said they were in a pasture nearby, because if they stay near the Christmas Train, children feed them candy and they get a tummy ache.

Jackson sat on Santa's lap and gave him his list - an Archius stuffed animal (Pokemon), Nerf Elite for Wii and a Nintendo DS. Reid would not sit on Santa's lap, but did walk up to the edge of the carpet and at least talked to him. Last year, she would barely go in the door. She asked about his reindeer and gave him her list - a real horse, a toy horse, a real unicorn, and a stuffed unicorn.

After visiting with the Claus', we had dinner and headed for our ride on the Christmas Train. The Train takes you on a 10 minute ride that tells the story of Christ - from the creation of the world to Christ's birth, to his death and resurrection. Jackson and Reid made friends with some kids that were in line with us and ended up sitting with us on the train.

We finished our train ride, walked through a couple of the shops (and, second year running - the decorations we liked in the store were not for sale!), hit the bakery for a cinnamon roll, and let the kids play on the playground for a while.

Good, fun, special family evening.