Santa takes kids on commute from Lisle to 'North Pole'
At first glance, it appeared like a typical morning rush-hour crowd waiting for a commuter train Sunday at the Lisle Metra station.
The giveaway was the large contingent of children decked out in everything from Santa suits to Christmas lights, along with parents adorned in such seasonal array as antler headgear.
They were huddled along the train platform eagerly awaiting the Lisle Santa Train that would transport them to the “North Pole,” or a close approximation of it, in downtown Chicago.
It would be the first of two trains making the 75-minute journey Sunday with Santa, Mrs. Claus and costumed characters recreating scenes from the classic holiday book and movie “The Polar Express.”
Sure enough, the train pulled in shortly before 10 a.m., and the doors opened to reveal Santa and a princess, who greeted riders as they poured onto the train. Several in the group said they are fans of “The Polar Express.”
“It's an experience for the kids, to go with the movie,” said Lisa Blitvich of Lemont,
Her son Jack, 2, and daughter Stephanie, 5, also love trains, she said. In fact, Jack received a Lionel train set this year, and Stephanie expressed a desire for a “pink train.”
Kerry Fritz, an Oswego resident who has family in Naperville, enjoyed the experience with daughter Lena, 6.
Santa is no stranger to Lena.
“Yesterday I saw him at my school,” she said.
Fritz said she was looking forward to seeing the children experiencing the fun and Christmas spirit.
“It makes me happy to see her face light up,” she said.
Lena was looking forward to the crafts, with a lot of “gluing and sticking.”
If Santa showed up in full regalia, he had nothing on Elliot Walton, 7, and his sister Katie, 5, of Evanston. Both were dressed as Santa, while Katie brought along a toy puppy. They were joined by their grandmother, Anne Belz of Downers Grove, and their mother, Sharon Walton, who said this is the third time the children have ridden the Polar Express.
The cross-generational event was one the entire family could enjoy together.
Dan McIntyre, of Woodridge, part of a large family contingent of grandparents, uncles, aunts, nieces and nephews boarding the train.
“The holidays get everyone together. To be able to get out and take a day off from work and hang out with the family, that's what the holidays are all about,” he said.
As they waited for the train, McIntyre's daughter Delaney, 9, asked if Santa would be driving the train.
He told her Santa doesn't have a driver's license.