Holiday Express at Pullen Park - My Review

As I've said before, Pullen Park in Raleigh is my absolute favorite park to take my kids in the Raleigh area.  So when I saw Holiday Express At Pullen Park, I ran straight home to look it up. And I'm so glad I did because you have to buy tickets to attend. A month before the event, two of the days were already sold out. The cost was $8 per ticket and you can ride the train and carousel an unlimited number of times, but we certainly didn't get $8 worth of rides per person.

It was a lot of fun, the decorations/lights were gorgeous and when you were on the train it was spectacular! However, I am not going to rave and rave about it. In fact, I may not go back until my kids are a few years older. The biggest problem was the lines. You couldn't park at Pullen, you had to drive to the Dorothea Dix Soccer Fields, where you parked and waited in line for the bus to take you to the park. It was about 20-25 minute wait. Then, you wait in line to pick up the wristbands. You can do this the week of the Holiday Express event, but we live kind of far out so it wasn't convenient to go ahead of time.

Those lines were not the big issue, though. The issue is the train line. It seemed like a half-hour wait to get on the train, maybe more, but after waiting in the two previous lines, my kids were not in the mood to wait again. (They are 1 and 3). When we finally got on the train, that's where we got our monies worth. The train was lit up and there were wonderful, exciting (for the kids) displays around the entire track. My kids absolutely squealed with delight. But we weren't able to ride again because the line was even longer the rest of the visit. The carousel was fun, but the lines were pretty long and were even longer after our first ride. That's all we did. The line for Santa was pretty long most of the time, too.




What I really enjoyed was, of course, the train ride but also there were little craft stations. My oldest daughter made reindeer food, which we toted all the way up to Pennsylvania for Christmas and emptied on Aunt Chrissy's front lawn. Both girls made Christmas ornaments. It was so cute and absolutely wonderful to see my youngest (22 months) get to participate in a craft. Those, too, made the trip to Pennsylvania. My kids liked the clown with the little frog puppet, too.

Did we have a good time? Absolutely. Is it a must-do event? Sure, for the right ages. Will we do it again next year? No likely.

520 Ashe Ave
Raleigh, NC 27606


HIGHLIGHTS: The Train Ride, most of the regular Pullen Park stuff were still accessible, lights were gorgeous, people working were very friendly and seemed genuinely happy to be there, the clown, some of the crafts were wonderful and it's fun to experience the park at night.

LOW LIGHTS: Lines, we had to park at Dorothea Dix and ride a bus to the park, lines, the only food they had there was the standard concession fare (just OK). Did I mention the lines?

COST: $8 per person (under 2 are free)

Halloween Activities That Give Me Shivers!

I wanted to share all of my favorite upcoming Halloween events in the area, but OH MY there are so many. I got overwhelmed at the thought!

However, I did find a great link from WRAL that had tons of activities. I have a couple issues with the link, though. It's not organized by date of the event. The activities are listed in alphabetical order according to the location of the event, and some of the events have already passed. So, I picked out my favorites for your convenience. This is truly just the tip of the iceberg, so I recommend visiting their site anyway.

Family Fun Night Spooktacular at Marbles is an event exclusively offered for special needs kids. It's designed to offer a calmer, quieter version of Marbles. This event is free for kids with special needs and their families and kids are encouraged to wear costumes. It's from 5-8 p.m. Oct. 25 at Marbles in downtown Raleigh.

Koka Booth Amphitheatre in Cary has been showing night time scary movies since Oct. 23 and will continue through Oct. 27. Movies start at dusk but the gates open at 6 p.m. and the cost is $3 per person. Kids under 12 are free. Some of the movies are Rated R, so they're not all kid friendly. Visit their website for more information. The Spiderwick Chronicles shows on Friday, Oct. 26 and is PG.

Gobblins Groove Family Dance is at Halle Cultural Arts Center in Apex on Friday, Oct. 26 from 7-9:30 p.m.  It's a family dance party! Youth and teens must be accompanied by adults. Costumes are encouraged. The cost is $5 per couple and $2 per additional child. There will be a dance contest, and snacks and punch will be provided.

Trick of Treat in Downtown Fuquay-Varina is Friday, Oct. 26, from 2-5 p.m. on North Main Street in, you guessed it, downtown Fuquay-Varina. The downtown merchants will hang signs that say, "Trick or Treat Here!" and will pass out treats along the business district. Want to enjoy Halloween early, this is a great way to kick off the trick-or-treating fun.

Boo at the Zoo is Saturday, Oct. 27 & Sunday, Oct. 28 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the NC Zoo in Asheboro. There will be trick-or-treat games, a kids' costume contest and live entertainment throughout the park. The cost is $12 for adults and $8 for kids 2-12.

My little pumpkin at Marbles.

New Hope Valley Railway's Halloween Express is a Halloween-themed train ride on a real diesel train and is on Saturday, Oct. 27. Trains depart starting at 4 p.m. and are about an hour. The last train runs at 7:45 p.m. The cost is $10 per rider. Click the link above for more details. Tickets must be purchased in advance, click here for their website.  

The Kooky Spooky Halloween Party at Marbles is Saturday, October 27 from 6-9 p.m. Advanced tickets for non members are $10 and at the door they are $12 per person. Wear your costumes to Marbles Kids Museum and enjoy family fun, including wrap mommy or daddy like a mummy, a Monster Mash Dance Party, hide-and-seek maze fort, Potions fun and so much more. 

Natural History Halloween is at the Natural History Museum in Raleigh on Saturday, Oct. 27, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event is free for all, but designed for those 2-12 years of age. There will be a costume contest for the kids, live spooky animals, face painting, crafts, games, prizes and more. The Natural History Museum is located at 11 W. Jones Street in Raleigh.
Hays Halloween House Drive by in Cary and Halloween Light Show in Holly Springs are incredibly decorated homes (or so I've heard) you can drive by and check out most nights through Halloween. They're already decorated and ready to go, so you can visit tonight! The Hays Halloween house is located at 4309 Hawksong Place in Cary and can be viewed from dusk to 10 p.m. on weekends and dusk to 9 p.m. on week days, weather permitting. The other is at 804 Linden Ridge Drive in Holly Springs. I haven't had a chance to do this, yet, but the website shared that if your radio is on 93.5 FM, the lights sing you a couple Halloween songs. I'm not sure what that entails, exactly, but it's worth checking out!


Also of note was the Raleigh Living Dead party on Saturday, Oct. 27 from 4-11 p.m., and the Tricks and Treats Halloween Bash in Cary on Saturday, Oct. 27 from 5-9 p.m.

Have fun and enjoy what our area has to offer this Halloween! I know I will!

Holiday Express at Pullen Park - Christmas comes early in Raleigh!

As I've said before, Pullen Park in Raleigh is my absolute favorite park to take my kids in the Raleigh area.  So when I saw this, I ran straight home to look it up. And I'm so glad I did because you have to buy tickets to attend.

This holiday season they're going to decorate Pullen Park with lights and displays. I am particularly excited about the lighted train ride and the visit with Santa! It's December 5-9 from 4-9 p.m. and tickets are already on sale. (Last year the event sold out early, the website said). Children under 2 are free with a paying adult, all other tickets are $8 per person.

Click here to get your tickets or you can buy them at parks and recreation facilities. It looks like you have to sign up for reclink to buy the tickets online. Armbands will be available for pick up on the night you reserved.

520 Ashe Ave
Raleigh, NC 27606

As of November 13, 2012, Saturday and Sunday has sold out and there are less than 75 tickets available for Sunday. Wednesday and Thursday (December 5 & 6) still have a few hundred remaining.

I made Play Dough - VERY EASY!

We took the morning off of traveling all over Wake County to make some play dough for my daughter's preschool. I am NOT Suzie homemaker, but I thought this turned out well.

My adorable assistant.

 

I got this recipe from babyparenting.about.com. I will list the recipe as I read it and then tell you how I'd change it for next time.


RECIPE FOR PLAY DOUGH:
1 cup flour
1 cup water
1 tbsp powdered alum
1 tbsp oil
1/2 cup salt
2 tbsps vanilla
food coloring

Mix all dry ingredients first, then add oil and water. Stir thoroughly and cook on medium until consistency is that of THICK mashed potatoes. Then add vanilla. Separate mixture in half and add food coloring, kneed until it looks like play-dough and the color you desire. Repeat with the second half.

Next time I will only add 1 tbsp (or less) of vanilla. It seemed like a lot, and I'm not sure what it really "does" for the recipe other than make it smell better. Vanilla is too expensive.

A little hint, it gets VERY clumpy while cooking. That's OK. It gets better as you play with it and kneed in the food coloring and vanilla. Also, I will wear gloves next time. I made orange play dough and my hands are red and orange now, although it is fading fast.

Story time At Holly Springs Library

Tuesdays and Wednesdays at the Holly Springs Library (at 10 and 11 a.m.) there is story time. Since my girls are 1 & 2, we go to the early session. At 11 the story teller caters to pre-schoolers (3 & 4).

Story Time is money on a rainy, blazing hot or freezing cold day. But it's pretty packed on those extreme-weather days. There's singing, reading (of course), puppet shows and after it's over, they offer coloring or craft activities.  Even my 17-month old stands still for a few minutes to watch Miss Terry read her stories or sing a song and dance. 

Jordan (2) is getting more involved, answer questions, raising her hand to participate and singing and dancing along to the songs. It's really been wonderful, and it's so close to home it's an easy default for me when I don't want to pack a lunch or plan ahead.  There are also sessions on Mondays for babies (under 18 months, I believe). I've never been to these, but I like Tuesdays & Wednesdays so I can only imagine it's worth a shot if you have a little one.

\HIGHLIGHTS: It's so close to home, easy parking and my kids love Miss Terry.

LOW LIGHTS: It can get very crowded, and it's at a library so there are a lot of things my kids can get into.

COST: FREE -- My favorite!

A Crafty Little Visit to the Library



(Left to right) Daniel and Jordan display their train craft at the Holly Springs Library on Tuesday.
(Note the mess on the table behind them).



Yesterday morning I was feeling a little crafty. My very fabulous friend, Amanda, invited us to do a train craft with them at the Holly Springs Library for drop-in craft time.

It was pretty fun for my 2 1/2 year old, Jordan, although not a terribly clever craft. The craft leader printed out and cut train cars (4) to be colored or to cover in sparkles and glue by the children. Also, the kids (mostly 18 mos to 3 years) were instructed to glue together the cars. My oldest didn't really get that part, and\ it took her awhile to understand that the sparkles don't stick unless you use glue. I THINK, that's my fault. I'm not very crafty. I don't even think we have a glue stick in the house.  

It was messy; but it wasn't messy at my house!!!!





My 1-year-old, Dani, decided eating the crayons was a better idea than coloring with them. She also tried to color someones shirt. Thankfully, she too had "been there" so the mom (victim of Dani's plot) laughed along with us.



The best part was meeting the other moms and watching them laugh and struggle to instruct their children along with me. Once again, the imperfect outing introduced me to some WONDERFUL moms. The best thing about wonderful moms, they give me more ideas of what to do in the area!!! A couple of them left early (it was not an age-appropriate craft for their little ones) to go to Womble Park. I've driven by but never played there that I can remember.



There are 20 libraries in the Wake County Public Library System. If the other 19 are anything like Holly Springs, there are lots of activities like this one. (Click above for more information) The next scheduled Drop-In Craft for Holly Springs Library is June 20 from 4-5 p.m.

HIGHLIGHTS: Something different for my kids (whose mom is NOT crafty), I didn't have to clean up the HUGE mess Jordan made, Jordan & I both made friends (Kim & Daniel - Daniel is pictured in the top picture)

LOW LIGHTS: My 1-year-old wanted little to nothing to do with it; it was inside when the sun was shining

COST: Free (MY FAVORITE!)

GAS: Less than $1 for those who live in Holly Springs

ADDRESS & PHONE:

300 West Ballentine Street  

Holly Springs, NC 27540
(919) 577-1660

 

 

Later Crocodile!

What to do ... What to do

Hi Y'all. I'm Kristin.

I'd like to tell you a bit about myself.

I knew I wanted to be a mom the day I met my husband. But I wanted to be a writer since I was 16. It was a difficult, yet somehow easy, decision to make to stop writing. When I gave up sports journalism in the spring of 2004, my whole world changed. I didn't want to give up one for the other, but sports writing is just not a family-friendly occupation. I am excited to finally be able to bring the two together.

Five years after leaving journalism, I had a baby girl, our first. I couldn't wait to take her to the park, play catch, go fishing & teach her all the things I love to do.

NOW, 3 years later I have to schedule time into my week to stay home with my 2 girls (yes, that's right I am the mother of a 2 1/2 & a 1 year old). There is just so much to do here in the Raleigh area.

It's not likely this will be a daily blog - or even a regular weekly blog (although I want to try). But I want to share with other mommies, stay-at-home or working outside the home, some of the WONDERFUL things I have done in Raleigh/Cary/Apex/Holly Springs/Fuquay-Varina. So when I find something new (to me) I will share it with you.

I prefer the free activities, but that's not always possible. My plan is to give you the details, the highlights, low lights & then the costs. And I am cheap, so I may even factor in gas $$ estimates for the Holly Springs, NC mommies. (My GPS calculates that for me. LOVE IT)

ALSO, I am far from an expert (like I said, my oldest is only 2 1/2). I meet mommies (& a few daddies) all the time who tell me about something new. PLEASE share any ideas with me!

My first activity blog will be about Pullen Park in Raleigh. Why? IT'S MY FAVORITE!!!!!!

Later Crocodile