Why Don't You Come With Me, Little Girl...

...on the MiniVan Express! Okay, not quite a carpet ride, but still magical. And I'll tell you a secret (shhhh), I had just as much fun as my kids. I guess there IS still a part of me that wants to be a kid (hallelujah!) and Christmas can spark up the nostalgia, huh?

So, what is the MiniVan Express? I found out about this cute little Christmas tradition from a fellow blogger, Sandy Toes. So, here's how The Sherman household did it:

I placed special "gold" tickets under the kids' sheets. We treated this night like any other night. We made the kids put their PJs on and brush their teeth. When it was time to get in the bed, the kids pulled down their covers to discover the tickets! They had NO IDEA what it was, but they were excited!

There was a small amount of prep work for this outing. Besides making the tickets in advance, I also made sure that I had popcorn popped, cookies made and hot chocolate poured into our travel mugs. I put the popcorn in these cute Christmas canisters and topped it off with a cookie for each child! The big can of popcorn is for the conductor (& his wife)!

Kate just found her ticket. She is THRILLED, but not quite sure what it all means yet. I tell her she better head downstairs if she wants to make the trip! The conductor is waiting!

Both Aaron and Kate run downstairs (with blankets in tow) and I lead them out to the garage. Bryan (a.k.a. Tom Hanks) is waiting to punch their tickets. Thanks for riding the MiniVan Express!

All comfy cozy and ready to go on our ride! What exactly are we in search of? CHRISTMAS SPIRIT! A.k.a. Christmas lights in our neighboring subdivisions. We put on some Christmas tunes and are off...

I liked the 3 angels in white...very pretty on the rock wall.

We didn't see many nativity scenes on our tour, but glad to see the few we came across...

Kate and Aaron liked the inflatables...there was Frosty the Snowman, Thomas the Train & even a Grinch or two!

Mommy liked the twinkling stars/snowflakes hanging from this tree.

While there were lots of cute decorations, I think our neighborhood still wins the award for most festive house (remember the other post picturing Dave's house?).

Well, I guess it's time to end the tour...one of our passengers has fallen asleep with
his popcorn tin still in his hand.

And of course, there is nothing like a display of sibling love to end the ride. Seriously though, we ALL had a great time and hope to make this a new tradition for the Shermans. Won't you join us next year?