Lionel Polar Express Ready to Play Train Set

Okay, we've found the perfect holiday decoration / family Christmas gift / toy for your little one, or your big one (whoever).  It's the Lionel Polar Express Ready to Play Train Set.  You guys.  This is so great!  Can't you just see it?  Obviously Lionel is a classic toy that will never lose its value and will only become more collectible over time, so it's a great investment for any train enthusiast, but if you are my grandma in the 1980s, your dream Christmas decoration is a choo choo train going around your Christmas tree.  Everyone is a winner with this train set, ladies and gentlemen.

Now, if for some reason you have no idea what The Polar Express is, let me just ask, where have you been?  Okay, okay, you're right.  My momma did teach me to be nicer than that, so I'll quickly fill you in.  The Polar Express was originally a book by Chris Van Allsburg, published October 28, 1985.  It's about a boy, who, on Christmas Eve, is swept away on a train full of other children, to the North Pole.  The book is fantastic all on its own and we highly recommend it.

 

After its incarnation as a book (quite a bit after, actually), it was turned into an animated film, in 2004, with Tom Hanks playing several different characters.  The story was basically the same as the book, and quite a charming story at that, though I always found the movie a little odd.  It has a great central song, though, which was a hit around the same time, and which you probably hear every Christmas: Believe, by Josh Groban.

So, now that you're all caught up on the history of The Polar Express, you can see why this Lionel train is so special and why it's the perfect addition to any home during the holidays, whether you have it set up around the Christmas tree like Meema suggests, or not.