St. Nicholas Train 

Here it is! I hinted that this Christmas event would get its own post. Ta-da! (So, technically it’s called the “Santa Train” but since our kids know Santa as Saint Nicholas, we will leave it at that to limit confusion.)

Earlier this year we decided to do this very fun family excursion and ride the St. Nicholas train that runs in late Nov-mid Dec. in Snoqualmie.  We decided this year was the best year for the train trip, it’s short enough for the littles to not get cabin fever, Caidoc is very into trains, and this is the last year Zelie is free of charge.

BEST DECISION EVER. The kids loved it and even got to meet Saint Nicholas and get a present from him, and have cookies and cocoa in an old box car. The “Santa” we met was great with the kids and was very respectful of their shyness. We are not the kind of people to put our kids on a strangers lap if they don’t want to and this Santa didn’t mind one bit. He could understand Caidoc’s very quiet voice and even knew who “Dusty Crophopper” was and didn’t go on about asking if Caidoc was “naughty or nice” . This impressed me no end. It was a short and sweet visit which was perfect for Caidoc and Zelie. *Unfortunately, our pictures didn’t turnout well, they were taken with our phones quickly*

The train is very old and runs slowly, which made me feel like I was in the 1920s, staring out the window at the landscape on my way to the country side to see relatives on holiday (yes, some quick daydreaming happened 😜). Both kids loved that there were no buckles and they could peek out the windows easily. It didn’t rain much thank heavens, but boy, it was freezing. No, literally, it snowed in Snoqualmie the next day!

We caught a train on the very last day, and I have to say if you are considering it, book early. It’s very, very popular. I’d also say don’t do it if you just want to meet Santa, the highlight of the whole experience is definitely the train ride so if your kiddos aren’t into trains it might not be worth the money and time. For us though, with a little engineer in the making, and a little lady who loves to make very loud train sounds, it was so very fun.

Choo-choo, Cheers!