The Minivan Express {Our Version}

First off, I must clarify. We do not have a minivan, but the idea was just so cute that I HAD to do it! I got the idea of the Minivan Express from Confessions of a Homeschooler. She even has cute little printable tickets for you to use. Anyhow, this is our version of the non-minivan express. LOL!!!

I think I was more excited than the kids!!! My husband got the kids all ready for bed while I got the popcorn and hot chocolate ready. While I hid the tickets in their beds, I was surprised to find my husband looking through the box of dress-up clothes. He was looking for the kids train conductor hat!!! Yes, I think he was excited too! We normally take the kids around town to look at Christmas lights, but it is something about the whole Minivan Express thing that had us both pretty excited!

So, before the kids found their tickets, he went to move his car out the garage so we would be ready to load the kids into my car…and much to our dismay, there was a thin, slick layer of ice on the road. In fact, my husband tried to drive the car around the block and he slid all over the road before he even got past our driveway. Needless to say, we didn’t get to take a ride on the Minivan Express that night.

TIP: Be sure to make sure that the weather is conducive BEFORE the kids find their tickets!!! 

So, as he was trying to pull back into the garage, the kids were squealing with excitement as they each found their tickets…even the little boys were excited. So, we had to come up with an alternative plan. We still had our popcorn and hot chocolate, but we watched a Christmas movie instead. It took some work, but I was able to explain that the roads were too slick for the express. I believe they thought they were going to ride on a real train!!!

So, a few nights later, we tried again…making sure that the roads were safe to drive FIRST! The kids were just as excited and it was a huge success! They had such a blast that all but two of them had fallen asleep by the time we got back home. Since they were already in their PJs all we had to do was put them straight to bed! What a great way to end a great night!!!

This will definitely become a new Christmas tradition for our family!!! My very favorite part, aside from the kid’s excitement, was that my husband got so into it! Not only did he find and put on the kid’s conductor hat (both times) he even went to the extent of hole punching their first initial into each of their tickets!!!