Irvine Park Railroad Christmas Train Giveaway 2010

It’s the season, once again for Irvine Park Railroad’s annual Christmas Train where you can take a magical night ride through historic Irvine Regional Park to meet Santa Claus with your kiddos! And {yippee}, I have 6 train tickets & 6 activity tickets to give away to one lucky winner!  Make sure to enter to win below!

This is a yearly tradition for us.  We went last Saturday night and there is nothing that will get you in the Christmas spirit more than this event!

Christmas Train tickets may be purchased to ride the train at a specific date and time — then all you do is get in line when it is your time to board the train.  Tickets may be purchased online which is a good idea as popular times/dates can sell out.

While waiting to board the train, there are many activities for children to enjoy in Santa’s Village located next to the train station.    These  activities open one hour prior to when the Christmas Train runs.

Some of the fun things include include Story Time with Mrs. Claus, Christmas Cookie Decorating, Carnival Games, Santa Claus bounce house, Christmas Coloring Corner and fun Picture Stands.  Prices for activities vary; for additional information and costs, visit www.irvineparkrailroad.com.

Here is Mrs. Claus in action…

We got there a little after 4pm for the 5pm train and it was perfect.  Emma bounced (her favorite) and the girls watched Mrs. Claus, then ran around for a bit. We got in line at 4:40pm for our 5pm train.

The train ride is really cute.  All the trees are covered in colorful lights and since it is evening and everyone is bundled up, it feels WINTER-y!  Fun for a change for us OC’ers!  Once you arrive at the North Pole, you can purchase coffee, hot chocolate, freshly-popped popcorn and cookies from the Elf House Snack Bar.  A full kitchen menu is also available at the Train Station.

You may take your own pictures with Santa or you may purchase a picture taken by Irvine Park Railroad. Each 5” x 7” photo will be presented with an Irvine Park Railroad border and available for pickup shortly after being taken.

I LOVE that they let you take your own, because often mine turn out like this, with no one looking and smiling…

That picture just cracks me up because Morgan was so horrified again by St. Nick. I am surprised we actually got a picture with her NOT crying!

Emma did quite enjoy a talk with Santa afterwards. Once again, she told him about wanting a Barbie house. He then asked her if she wanted a big or small Barbie house (you can probably guess the answer.)  In the car on the ride home, since she already saw Santa one time at Disneyland, she told us it was “a good thing that Santa got more information about the Barbie house.”   Classic.

Here they are confirming more information on this Barbie house…

After visiting with Santa, you hop back aboard the train and enjoy the colorful Christmas lights and decorations, as well as the magical “Tunnel of Lights” on the ride back to the station.  SUCH a fun, fun, fun family event!  You will love it!

Here are some details for you!  The cost to ride the Christmas Train is $8.00 per person (kids younger than 24 months ride free.)  The parking for Irvine Regional Park is $3.00 per vehicle on weekdays and $5.00 per vehicle on weekends. Parking for the Christmas Train is free after 5:00 PM.  I don’t know if this is typical, but we arrived around 4:05 pm and they did not charge us for parking.

Christmas Train Dates & Hours

December 3rd, 4th and 5th:  5:00 – 8:00pm (activities open at 4pm)
December 10th through 17th: 5:00 – 8:00pm (activities open at 4pm)
December 18th and 19th: 2:00 – 8:00pm (activities open at 1pm)
December 20th through 23rd: 4:00 – 8:00pm  (activities open at 3pm)

For pricing, park directions and complete details (including confirming dates and times) please visit www.irvineparkrailroad.com!

Hooray! It’s a Tiny Giveaway!

One lucky winner will win 6 Christmas Train tickets and 6 activity tickets! Please leave a separate comment for each entry option.  Giveaway will run through Tuesday, 12/7/10 at 5pm PST.  I will email the winner, so you must leave an email address (won’t be published.)

1. Simply comment & tell me your favorite part of the holiday season – 1 ENTRY

2. {Like} Irvine Park Railroad on Facebook – 1 ENTRY

3. Follow @IrvineParkRR on Twitter – 1 ENTRY

4. {Like} Tiny Oranges on Facebook – 1 ENTRY

5. Follow @TinyOrangesOC on Twitter – 1 ENTRY

6. Join the Tiny Oranges Team to participate in the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation Run/Walk on 5/1/11 and raise money for a great cause and have a ton of fun while doing it!  Click “Join Our Team” at the top of this LINK.  Then tell me you are on our team! – 1 ENTRY

GOOD LUCK! Have a great weekend everyone!

{Disclosure: We received complimentary tickets to facilitate this post}

48 comments

  6. My favorite part of this holiday season is my children. I love watching them get so excited about the lights, the music, the live drive thru nativity, the giving of gifts in celebration of Jesus’ birth. The Night Before Christmas we go to church and sing our hearts out! Then we return home to a big Italian dinner. We do a fun gift game and then end with reading the Christmas story in the Bible by candlelight. Each person reads a couple versus’ then lights the person next to them candle and so on. Lastly “Silent Night” and cookies n milk for Santa:)

  7. I love the holidays – I try to extend the experience for as long as possible. My favorite part is all the decorations and Christmas music. I start listening to it in late November even! Can\’t ever get enough of Burl Ives! 🙂

  8. My favorite part about the holidays is being surrounded by my loved ones. I espcially love that my three year old is beginning to “get” the holiday season!

  13. Love everything about the holiday season. Family, decorations, and the most important Jesus’s Birthday!

  14. My favorite part of the holiday is the traditions. I love passing down traditions I had growing up, sharing them with my kids and making new ones, of course!!

  16. My favorite part of the holiday season is experiencing all the wonder and magic again through my child’s eyes!

  19. My favorite part of the holiday season is taking my kids to do fun things…and there are so many fun things to do this time of year!

  21. I can’t wait to take my 1.5. Year old on the Christmas train. I have yet to ride the train myself, so I’m excited too! 🙂

  26. My favorite part of the holiday season are all the great family activities to do, like the Irvine Park RR. We love doing things together as a family and this time of the year has so many great options for family fun!

  28. already “like” tiny oranges on fb
    thanks for the opportunity to win a great prize package!

  29. now \"following\" irvine park railroad on twitter
    thanks again for the opportunity to win a great prize

  34. My favorite thing about the holidays is getting together with family. So comforting and always the lights and cheer the season brings.

  35. my favorite part of the season is baking cookies with my daughter as this was my favorite thing to do with my mom growing up and i love carrying on the tradition.

  36. I love so many things about the holidays…the decorations, the holiday parties, the excitement in my children’s eyes, helping a needy family/child, baking, driving around to view all the decorations/lights, and most of all riding the train at the Irvine Train Park!! (My son is a HUGE train fan!!) =D

  37. The holiday season is such a wonderful time for our family…the decorations, the holiday parties, the excitement in my children\’s eyes, helping a needy family/child, baking, driving around to view all the decorations/lights, and most of all riding the train at the Irvine Train Park!! (My son is a HUGE train fan!!) =D

  39. One of my favorites of the season is to watch the smiles on children’s faces when they visit Santa or as they look at the holiday decorations.

  48. My favorite part of the holidays besides being with the family is decorating the tree with the kids. They love all the lights and decorating the tree themselves!

Comments are closed.