The Christmas Train at Victory Camp

We went to The Christmas Train at Victory Camp on December 8th.  We had heard a lot of good things about it and this was our first time to go.  Each December hundreds of volunteers from Living Stones Church and Victory Camp come together to setup and prepare for families all over the Houston area.  It is a memorable experience to share with your family, as well as a reminder to remember Jesus is the Reason for the Season.

#thechristmastrain

We had been advised to make reservations for either the first train or the last because it can get really crowded in between.  We arrived around 5:45 p.m. as we were scheduled for the first train ride at 6:30 p.m. and they ask that you check in 30 minutes before your train ride.

It was 40 degrees with wind gusts up to 34 mph.  :)  It was cold.  I had been sick with a bad cold and was just starting to get better.  At first I wasn't going to go but as the day went on I changed my mind.  We were all bundled up with scarves, gloves and hats.  It was so very cold.  We were lucky the rain held off until we were finished for the evening.

They had lots of pretty Christmas decorations throughout the hall.

There was a HUGE village.  176 square feet to be exact.  The details were incredible.

You were supposed to find Waldo and shout out Merry Christmas.

Naturally, the hubs found him first but included us all to shout out Merry Christmas.  :)

There was a photographer if you wanted to have your photo taken with Santa.

As you can see from the next photo there weren't many people around for the first train.  It was really nice to move around without any crowds.

We were shopping in the gift shop for souvenirs.  Isn't he adorable?

Ms. A chose the light up Christmas lights.  Sweet P chose the light up snowflakes, and Mr. W chose the light up Snowman.

The purple and blue snowflakes were perfect for Sweet P.

Love this girl!  She has on her Houston Texans beanie and her Baylor Bears scarf.

Fun Facts About the Christmas Train

A train ride through 300,000 lights!

Ole' Smokey, the original train, is from the San Antonio Zoo.

It takes volunteers and staff over 2,700 hours to prepare for the Christmas Train.

Blue Bell, the second train, is from a theme park in Canada.

Last year they sold over 500 pounds of popcorn.

Big Al's Pizza is named after Living Stones Church's founding pastor, Al Jandl.

Getting ready for the train ride.  They provide blankets for you to cover yourself up.

I love this sweet photo of Justin and Mr. W.

After the train ride, we got hot chocolate, chocolate chip cookies and funnel cakes.  Very healthy choices, right?  Mr. W is thoroughly enjoying his funnel cake.

The next two pics are a little blurry as I couldn't get him to stop for a minute.  :)

You can write letters to Santa at The North Pole Office.  

#letterstosanta

They even have a special North Pole Express Mailbox.

I don't have any photos of Big Al's Pizza Parlor.  The deep dish pizza is supposed to be really good.

Our next stop was Mrs. Claus' House.  She read the Christmas Story and interacted with the kiddos.   Afterwards, they handed out little paper books of Jesus The Story.

Jesus The Story

God sent His Son to Earth.  His name was Jesus, and God had a special plan for Him.

Wise men brought gifts to Jesus.

They knew He was a special person.

As Jesus grew, everyone began to notice what a special person He was.

He helped all of the people and made sick people well.  Jesus showed love to everyone, everywhere.

Some people were upset with Jesus.  They didn't like how all the people loved him.

They planned to kill Jesus.  They arrested Him and put Him on a cross.

But God's special plan was not over!

Three days later, Jesus rose from the dead!  The tomb was empty and He was ALIVE!

What was God's plan for Jesus?

He came to take all of our sins and sickness away.

Now we can know and love God for ourselves.

God loves us so much, that He doesn't want anything to keep us away from Him.  All we have to do is ask Jesus to come live in our hearts.

Remember, Jesus Loves you! 

#jesusisthereasonfortheseason

The Christmas Train is located at

1407 Victory Lane

Alvin, TX 77511

www.thechristmastrain.org

I have some videos I haven't had a change to edit.  I hope to load them in a week or two to share them with you.

Hope you are having a wonderful eve before Christmas Eve.  We are home watching movies.

Take care,

xoxoxo

Debbie