Batavia: Depot Museum ornament

Batavia, Illinois -- Look what Santa will be leaving on the tree at our house this week. Batavia's history museum is featured as this year's collectable ornament in celebration of the depot's 160th anniversary. It is available in the museum gift shop or, where I found it, at the Batavia Park District's Civic Center office. Ornaments are $10 each. 

Now all the Christmas trains circling my tree can finally have a station! 

Mooseheart: Holiday Lights

Mooseheart, Illinois (Dec. 20, 2013) -- Don't let this weekend's winter weather keep you away from one of the most delightful Christmas experiences in the far western suburbs: the Mooseheart Holiday Lights. Visitors drive past more than 90 light displays along an almost two-mile route within the Mooseheart campus. Since Christmas and railroads go together like milk and cookies, there are trains to be seen amid the snowmen, reindeer and snowflakes, but there are also trucks, tractors, penguins, enormous football helmets (Bears and Packers!), a huge light tunnel and a musical light show. To add to the fun, the route ends with the opportunity to meet Santa -- but only through Monday evening. He has places to be after that! The Santa visits happen at the Mooseheart fieldhouse, where kids can also enjoy games, crafts and cocoa and cookies. There's even a small light-up train to see while you're enjoying your treats! 

It's tough to take a good nighttime picture
 with a car full of kids saying, "Hey, Mom,
look at that! Look at that!" but here's one of
the trains in the Mooseheart Holiday Lights display. 

Of course everyone will be oohing and ahhing over the lights along the route, but little engineers will also want to keep an eye open for the red Mooseheart Caboose located early in the route. (Drivers, it's after the turn from Legion Lane onto International Drive.)  

The light display runs through December 31. Entry costs $10, all of which supports the work of Mooseheart to provide for the care and education of children in need. There is no additional charge to visit Santa. 

Mooseheart is located on Illinois Route 31 two miles north of Interstate 88. Specific directions can be found here. 

St. Charles: Christmas Villiage model train display

St. Charles, Illinois -- Take a look at this video from St. Charles Free Methodist Church, which is inviting the public to its "Christmas Villiage" train display. To see the display in person, stop by Friday, Dec. 20 between 6 and 8 pm., Saturday, Dec. 21 from 9 a.m. until noon, and Sunday, Dec. 22 from 11:30 a.m. until noon. The church is at 214 Walnut St., St. Charles.

Wheaton: Lego Train Club Christmas Show

Wheaton, Illinois (Dec. 14, 2013) -- Any show put on by the Northern Illinois LEGO Train Club is a guaranteed good time, so making time for a trip to Cantigny this weekend to see their annual Christmas Train Show was a must do for our family. For this weekend, Cantigny's visitor center is entirely filled with Lego displays by club members, as well as vendors offering unique brick collections and accessories. As always, seeing the huge collection of Lego trains is just part of the fun. Make time to really look at the scenes and find the goofy humor and cultural references crammed into every inch of the layouts. (I'm not quite ready to let the kids watch Dr. Who, but seeing Daleks and Weeping Angels in Lego made me laugh. They thought the "Brick-Fil-A" restaurant was a sillier thing.) The only disappointment we had was not making time to step outside for the for the trackless train rides before they ended for the day. Oh, well, plenty to see inside. 

The show goes on for one more day: Sunday, Dec. 15 from 9 a.m. till 4 p.m. The trackless train rides are $1 and run until 3 p.m. Bring a new, unwrapped toy for Toys for Tots and parking your vehicle will be free! Otherwise parking is $5. The main event is is free. 

Birthday shopping in the model kit aisle

On the wish list ... for next year

Just before Halloween, the kids and I were in Hobby Lobby for costume shopping, when we were sidetracked by my son's preferred location in the store -- the model kit aisle. (Revisit that moment here.) Today I was back looking for birthday party activity ideas -- "Can it be an Egypt theme, Mom?" -- when I stopped in the same aisle for present buying. The beloved Big Boy locomotive kit is still there, but, honestly, I'm just not ready for the many, many, many pieces. So, it's going to be a Power Trains birthday, and I'm thrilled to report, not only does Hobby Lobby stock Power Trains, but they also accept the 40-percent off coupon from their weekly ad for them. Joy! There's hope that my budget may survive the Christmas season! 

South Elgin: Polar Express ride at An Almost Winter Day

Image courtesy of Vichaya Kiatying-Angsulee
at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

With snow on the ground today and Christmas carols playing in the stores, it is now undeniable that ye olde holiday season is upon us. Here in the land of Kids Who Love Trains, that means I should be gearing up for the seasonal delight of many a family: The Polar Express Christmas train ride. These rides, put on by many park districts and other community groups, feature a reading of the popular storybook by Chris Van Allsburg and a visit by Santa. Unfortunately, despite many years as mom to a railroad fanatic, we have never actually participated in any of the dozens of December rides in the area because:

1. I'm a cheapskate frugal manager of my family's financial resources. 
2. Crowds = cranky parents. (Someday my kids may share with therapists the humiliation of being  dressed in matching neon  -- and easy to locate -- outfits whenever we hit the town, but that means I was, in fact, successful in not loosing them amid the mob.)
3. I'm still learning to plan family activities more than 24 hours in advance. 

It's that last point that is the real issue here for anyone wanting to enjoy the Polar Express experience. I would love to give you a full listing of all your Christmas train ride options. Fortunately, that work has been compiled by other sites so all of us can get a jump on our holiday scheduling for 2014 because if you, like me, don't already have tickets in hand for a St. Nick on a train experience, we're probably out of luck. These events are hugely popular and sell out weeks, if not months in advance. Generally, it's just not a "Hey, what should we do this weekend?" kind of activity. Don't despair, though, if someone in your house had their heart set on a festive ride on the rails. For the procrastinators among us, or those who are simply ready to jump into the holiday spirit nice and early, South Elgin has an event to try. 

This Saturday, Nov. 16, South Elgin's SEBA Park will be the site of An Almost Winter Day. Several Christmas-themed activities are planned, including a ride from the Trolley Museum to the Jon Duerr Forest Preserve as a reading of the Polar Express is presented. No reservations are accepted, so plan your afternoon accordingly. Kids and their families will also be able to enjoy activities such as a petting zoo, s'mores making, sleigh rides, and cookie decorating. Santa is expected at 4:30 p.m. and the community's Christmas tree lighting will happen at 5 p.m. at the Footprints in Time Plaza. Everything gets started at 3 p.m. and wraps up with the the tree lighting. 

By the way, as you are making plans for last-minute Christmas activities this year and thinking ahead to next year's calendar, keep in mind that what was once a "Polar Express ride" may become a "Santa train ride." Concerns over copyright infringement mean that groups offering these rides either need to pay royalties (and raise fees) or redesign their program. The show will go on, but the name of the activity may change. 

Also, tickets for the 2014 Polar Express ride at the Fox River Trolley Museum go on sale June 1, 2014!

Union: Illinois Railway Museum

The signal collection at the Illinois Railway Museum
has always been a favorite spot for our family

In a new entry in the Best Ways to Keep Mom from Saying Goodnight contest that my oldest seems to run nightly, my train guy was studying an old calendar from the Illinois Railway Museum and trying to make me guess what events different colors represented. Since I found it easy to resist getting lured into a conversation about last year's activities, the procrastination was cut short. It did remind me, though, that the Union museum still has a few activities for visitors this year. If your schedule permits a drive out into the country, IRM is a great destination. On any visit, kids will love the train rides and seemingly endless cars and engines to explore. Special event days make the trip even more fun. 

Coming up this weekend (October 26-27), kids in costume will be able to take home treats from the Railway Museum's Trick or Treat Trolley event. Their website promises "free pumpkin and snack for  kids." It's a regular fare event of $10 for adults and $7 for kids, with a $38 family maximum. The grounds are open from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. 

For those who are older (at least 13) and enjoy being super scared this time of year, save Friday and Saturday night for the Terror on the Railroad Haunted Event. This runs from 7 till 11 p.m. for $13 or $18, depending on how much fear you'd like to cram into your evening. Check the link above for full details. 

Things calm down at the museum in November, although work is always being done behind the scenes. (Check IRM's blog to see some of those repairs and improvements.) The 2013 season ends with Christmas spirit during the first two weekends in December. Guests of the Happy Holiday Railway will be able to enjoy a wintery train ride and visit with Santa and the elves. Check with the museum for details and availability as holiday programs tend to sell out well in advance.

The Illinois Railway Museum is in Union, Illinois. For directions, click here.