A Magical Journey

Come and join me on a magical journey this morning. Lets bundle up and step outside your door. Look around at the sunlight glistening off the beautiful white snow. See how the snow is lying so thickly on the evergreens. Breathe deeply. Smell the fresh crisp air. Watch as the steam from your breath escapes.
Look off in the distance... What is that arriving? Could it be? Yes it is...a large beautiful sleigh being pulled by a team of beautifully matched horses all decked out in holiday array. Listen to their sleigh bells as they tinkle coming through the gate and up to the door.
What is that sound? Yes it is the driver calling to us and telling us all to jump in. Come on into the sleigh. There's plenty of fur robes to cover us well. Everyone comfortable? Plenty of covering? And off we go as our magical journey begins.

As we glide across the fields we look around at all the various deer and other animals out enjoying the cold sunshine. Their ears perk as we go by. The only sound we hear is the sound of the horses feet clopping in perfect rhythm. See all the animal tracks in the snow? Look over there to the left,  the birds are flocking to a patch where the wind has blown away the covering of snow. They are searching for the seeds left over from fall. Oh look a bright cardinal is swooping down. What a beautiful day. The sun warms the furs we are sitting under and we barely feel the cold as we go along. Suddenly a burst of cold air hits your face. The air feels like icicles cutting into your lungs. Quick, pull that scarf back up. Immediately the warmth begins to return. The sleigh begins to slow and up ahead we see a country lane. Could we be turning in? Yes it appears we are.
As we pass through the gate we notice this is a beautiful lane we are riding through. Holly bushes bright with red berries abound to either side among the beautiful pines, spruces, firs, and cedars. Its a veritable forest of evergreens. The sleigh begins to slow as it passes an old fashioned barn and pulls up to an old log house decked out for Christmas. Evergreen wreaths adorn the doors with garlands lining the windows intermingled with twinkling lights. We unload from the sleigh and start walking up the long covered walkway admiring the nativity scene set up near the barn. Isn't it just lovely the way that it is set up near a window of the barn so the cow can look out over the scene and be a part of it? Look there she is!! As our eyes drift to the right we notice a tree decorated for the birds. Popcorn and cranberry strands cover the tree with many pine cone bird feeders as ornaments. And look there just inside the big living room window we see a beautful tree decked in candle type lights with strings of paper, popcorn and silvery glittery ornaments. Ahead of us the door opens and a kindly lady welcomes us into her home.

Inside the door the first thing we notice as we are hurried out of our winter attire is the smell of gingerbread baking. Could it really be? We are hustled off to the big old country kitchen where on the table we see many many homemade goodies. The kitchen is warmed by the old fashioned wood cook stove. Nothing makes food taste so good she tells us. She reaches the oven and as she opens it to remove the fragrant gingerbread she is busy telling us this is the first stop of several we will make on our journey today and would we like some of the hot molasses gingerbread she is taking from the oven? She also has plenty of milk to go with it. We hesitate but she assures us this is very special gingerbread made just for us, and urges us to have a piece with a glass of milk if we want it.
So of course we gather around the table as she cuts us slices of the hot gingerbread and places them on dessert dishes to hand us. We offer to help but she insists she is fine. Pitchers of milk are passed around and there she is with big dishes of fresh cool whipped cream for our warm gingerbread. What could be better.
After a bit of chatter and enjoying her hospitality she tells us she has a lot more baking to do and she knows we need to hurry. Our driver is waiting outside. So we bundle back up and with many thank yous we hurry back to the sleigh to begin the next part of our journey.

As the sleigh goes back down the lane we notice birds feeding at the holly bushes. Questions to the driver go unanswered. Where are we going? What are we seeing? The driver just smiles, shakes his head, and tells us to relax and enjoy the many sights we will see throughout the day. We notice however the driver is not going back to the open field, instead he continues on through the forest and it isn't too long before  we notice we have been gradually ascending. As we break out into a clearing we look off to the right and my what a view!!! The snow glistens for as far as the eye can see. Down below us we notice the forest covered in snow with clearing where the farm houses lie. The driver points to the house we have just came from and we notice it is in an area where it still is heavily forested other than a few fields cleared for crops. He tells us the lady who gave us the gingerbread is very special and has been making gingerbread for the visitors on his trips since before he took over the route. After a few minutes of enjoying the view and the crisp clean air, he starts the horses up again and off we go but to who knows where.

As we continue alternating between forest and clearings the scenes constantly change. We see skiers and animals and everything seems just so cheery and festive. Just the sound of the horses' sleigh bells jingling made it seem that way.
After a short time we enter a small village. Clouds have started to drift in and the sunlight is fading. Its as though we have stepped back in time. In the center of the village stands a large gaily decorated Christmas tree. The stores are dressed in their finest holiday array. In the bakery window we see an array of Christmas cakes, cookies and pastries and as the door opens to a mother and small child, the smell of homemade bread wafts through the air. Everyone greets us with "Merry Christmas" and "So glad you came to visit us". We were beginning to feel like royalty but trust the children to bring us to reality. A small school located on the village circle has dismissed for recess and we see children with large snow forts built engaging in snow ball fights. Our driver stops the sleigh to watch. They see us arrive and suddenly we are the targets. Better duck!!!! Ah this means war!!! We pile out of the sleigh and off to commandeer a fort....
A mad dash from sleigh to a fort stopping to make snowballs to hurl in our defense along the way. Finally we are safe and sound. We take over the fort and begin to organize ourselves. Who will the suppliers and the the hurlers? Its a madhouse in the beginning but after a bit we start to make progress. Snowballs are flying back and forth and we try to avoid being hit. Bit by bit we are capturing the "enemy" where we put them to work making snowballs against the former teammates. Just as we are ready to take over their fort and flag, the bell rings calling them back in recess for the finish of their school day putting an end to the snowballing. Our driver (with a twinkle in his eye) from behind the sled fires off one final snowball nailing the teacher who just smiles and laughs at being gotten. She then kneels down, quickly forms a snowball and hurls it off in her defense before shutting the door to the world outside. Our driver then hurries us off through the village to the train station where we are handed mysterious tickets to allow us to board the "Magical Express" but there is no destination printed on the tickets and so we are still left wondering where we will end up.

We hurry toward the boarding gate and hand over our tickets. There doesn't seem to be a lot boarding here other than ourselves. A few friendly people we don't know and aren't familiar with but which are apparently well known local folks to the conductor. After a minute or two to allow them to board, the conductor just smiles as though he is part of a great secret as he hurries us through the turnstile. We are then ushered to a private car where we are met by a most gracious hostess. We are encouraged to take off our wraps and make ourselves comfortable for the journey. As before everything is decorated to reflect the lovely Christmas season. Even our car has a tree set up with garland accenting the windows. Twinkling multicolored lights abound. As we explore our private car, a fireplace is found at the end of the car. We all hurry to the fireplace area and collapse into the relaxing chairs found there. Our gracious hostess seems to know everyone's favorite flavors of hot cocoa even without asking and hands us all our favorites to relax with. As we sink into the comfy seats lit only by the glow from the fireplace and the twinkling holiday lights, we sit holding our mugs and we realize we still don't know where we're going or how long it will take to get there. Within minutes we feel the gentle swaying as the train leaves the station and we're on our way.
When we awaken from our refreshing nap we find that our hostess has removed our mugs we fell asleep holding and has made sure we were comfortable. We start to move around and notice the shades have been raised on the windows. We watch as darkness falls over the great white wasteland. Here and there we see homes that appear to be made of ice glowing from lights inside. The sky has cleared and as we look up toward the horizon we see more stars than we ever believed would be possible. The sky was dark and the stars twinkled more brightly than can be imagined. We feel the train slowing and realize we must be near our destination. Out in the distance we see a village all lit up in many many lights. That must be where we're going we chatter quietly to each other. Our hostess arrives to help us bundle back up and to tell us to enjoy our visit and the luscious supper we will find waiting on us. As the train comes to a stop the excitement levels rise as we prepare to leave the "Magical Express".

As we step off the train into the cold night air we are pleasantly surpassed to see our driver awaiting us with the sleigh and horses. Apparently he had been in a separate car on the train!!! He ushers us into the sleigh for a quick 10 minute journey off to the lights we saw earlier in the distance. As he pulls into the covered area in front of a building we are greeted with a cheer of welcome. We're rushed into a dining hall with plenty of tables and a nice buffet line of all varieties of foods. We're encouraged to take what we like ranging from baked salmon to grilled chicken breast to many types of vegetables and fruits. As we sink our teeth into the luscious food we realize we have been very blessed to be welcomed to this lovely place although we still had no idea where we were other than it was COLD outside. Just then coming through the doorway we see the most gentle looking grandmotherly type lady anyone could image. Her hair is white as snow and beautiful twinkling blue eyes. She comes to our table and tells us she hopes we'll enjoy our visit. One of us (and I don't know who) timidly asks "But where are we?" Her response is a tinkling laugh and a "Welcome to Santa's Village, North Pole".

"The North Pole?" we stammer. Suddenly we're speechless...no one ever gets to visit the North Pole and yet here we are. No wonder everyone was so secretive. At last it all makes sense. The lovely surprise sleigh ride, the beautiful trip up the mountains and into the village. The hand carved ornaments on the tree and the lovely Christmas spirit everywhere. We were at the gateway to Santa's own world.
The food is divine. Everyone finds their favorite foods on the buffet. In the background we hear all our favorite Christmas songs being sung by the elf choir as toys are constructed in the nearby workshops. Their whole job is to keep morale up and its a real honor being chosen by the choir. Its a veritable beehive of activity being this close to Christmas and yet they take the time to give us one of the most special gifts, a chance to visit Santa's village. As soon as we finish dining a guide almost as if by magic a guide appears to show us around the village. He is dressed in green and red with a pointed little hat and bells on his pointed shoes. We stand and follow him down a hallway into a large work area. This is the doll room. As we look around we see groups of elves everywhere working on dolls of different varieties. There are the Barbie tables, the crying tables, the Bratz tables and many many more. Any doll we can imagine can be found here in this room. He then leads us through many other rooms. Even though it is very late there appears to be no slowing down in the various workshop rooms. Everywhere is hustle and bustle.
A quick trip through the warm barns allows us a chance to meet the famous reindeer. Donner the head of the herd wastes no time in keeping them in line. We get to meet Blitzen and find one of her favorite foods is apples. Dasher is full of mischief as is Dancer. Prancer can’t seem to be still, he's running all over the barn. He is already feeling the excitement in the air. Vixen is carefully watching over her latest addition to the herd while Comet streaks by stealing carrots as he gets the chance. Cupid can’t wait for us to come to him and runs over to us to have his antlers scratched. We look around and yes down near the end with all the smaller reindeer gathered around is none other than Rudolph. Now I know we all know the story of Rudolph but how often do you get to hear it told by Rudolph himself? For that’s what he was doing. Sharing his story with the small reindeer about how even though he was different than most on the outside, inside he was still a reindeer and turned out to be a very important part of Santa’s team whenever the weather turns foggy or bad.
The last stop on our tour of the village workshops is to meet the one and only man himself. Yes its none other than Santa Claus. Even though he is busy as can be at this time of year, he stops his work to talk to us and to answer any questions we may have. He is dressed all in red and his white hair and beard shines in the light. The twinkling blue eyes and cheery smile are unmistakable to anyone who has ever seen him. He tells us about his magic sack that he uses to carry the toys the elves make all year long and how his greatest disappointments are all the adults who fail to believe in him. How can he expect to fulfill children’s dreams when many of their parents no longer believe in the Christmas magic? We ask him why we were selected for this magical visit and he tells us it is because we still have a touch of the Christmas magic in our hearts. He thanks us for coming and asks us to please help restore the magic of Christmas to the hearts of everyone we meet. For without our help who knows how long the true spirit of Christmas will last?

As we prepare to leave the magical land of the far north we find our driver has been given special permission to bring us back home via a very special sleigh. Yes, we are riding home in none other than Santa’s sleigh itself. We bundle up and soon as Dasher and Dancer are harnessed to the sleigh we load and with an "On Dasher, On Dancer" we take to the skies in the most wonderful sleigh in the world. For what other sleigh would have been able to return us to our homes in time to make sure everyone was well and tucked in for the night leaving us with the most magical memories of a day spent going to Santa’s Village.