All Aboard for the Polar Express!

By Ami D'Amelio, NHGSA Programs Manager, Granite State Ambassador, PSU Ice Arena Class of 2011

The holidays are a magical time of year and what better way to kick off the season but to take the beloved ride to the North Pole on the Polar Express! This year, my sister-in-law Bridget and I hatched a plan to score some tickets for our families on the Polar Express Event of New England, and it all started in September .... which made for a very early start to the holiday season...

For the Polar Express Event of New England, which leaves from either North Conway or Lincoln, your entry and donation must be postmarked by October 1st. (For those of you that are just thinking of the Polar Express now, there are a few tickets which recently became available from the Lincoln location you can click here to see the available dates and purchase online) So we both sent in our entries with donations - hers to Lincoln, mine to North Conway - hoping we could hedge our bets. On the scheduled call days, volunteers for the Polar Express Event work their way through all the entries, calling each person and offering whatever seats are still available. When you receive the call, you have to make your decision on the spot and provide payment. If you don't answer, you lose your tickets. We were lucky enough that Bridget's call day was first and she was able to get tickets for all of us on the same Saturday night. (Consequently, I did get a call the next day but it was quite late in the afternoon and no Friday or Saturday tickets were available) Thank goodness we divided and conquered!

Now, the D'Amelios are a rowdy bunch so we took the feedback from other families who had attended in the pajamas and decided to all dress in matching PJs - I am sure we were quite the sight! But the kids were excited (the adults, too!) so we headed off in our matching outfits for the 7pm departure from the Hobo Railroad in Lincoln, NH on December 3rd. We arrived early to get to the head of the boarding line, the two little boys were in heaven playing with trains in the gift shop!


Promptly at 6:30, the doors opened and we rushed to board the actual train. True to the book, the train staff came by with hot chocolate for everyone and we enjoyed the yummy treat all the way to the North Pole.

Upon arrival at the North Pole, Santa's elves were standing along the path to help guide us to the theater and played along well with the kids. Our elf "Icecube" was very playful and asked the kids about their Santa lists - delighting each and every one with his attention.

We settled into the theater and enjoyed a reading from The Polar Express. Then the Big Man came out to greet the sea of excited kids and took the time to walk around and greet each one. This was definitely the highlight for our crew! (We had no idea Santa had this kind of time on his hands during this time of year!) After selecting a child to receive the first gift of Christmas, we all made our way back to the train and started the long trek back to NH from the North Pole. During our ride, the train staff came around again, this time to give each child a sleigh bell to take home. My girls were so excited to exclaim that they could still hear it ring!

It was a very delightful evening, and fun to see so much of the book come to life before our very eyes. It was definitely a memory that will stay with us for a long time - hopefully our matching PJs will last as long! :-)