the minivan express

i saw this idea on pinterest

and then got motivated to do it by my friend erin!

the minivan express

is explained in detail here

but the basic idea of it is pretending your van is a train

and taking your kids on an evening train ride

to look at Christmas lights

while drinking hot chocolate and eating treats

michael read the kids a Christmas book

while i hid the tickets under their pillows,

and got the treats ready

then michael warmed the van and waited for us to come out

he was the conductor with a hole punch

ready to punch their tickets upon entrance

 the kids were so excited

 we brought their stuffed animals and blankets

 they loved driving around and looking at lights

 i could not believe how fast they drank their hot chocolate sippies

michael and i enjoyed ours, too

it was a fun night and it could easily become 

a Christmas tradition