September 2022 - Page 3 of 3

St. Louis — September 8, 2022 — Tickets go on sale today at 9 a.m. for THE POLAR EXPRESS™ Train Ride at St. Louis Union Station at www.stlpolarexpressride.com.

The real train rides — a St. Louis holiday tradition — are rolling to the North Pole again to tell the magical story of a boy’s search for the real meaning of Christmas. The train rides begin at St. Louis Union Station on November 18 and continue through December 30, 2022.

Coach tickets for this St. Louis holiday event begin at $35 and may be purchased online at www.stlpolarexpressride.com. First Class and Premium seats also are available. Prices vary by day, time and ticket class. Group tickets are available for groups of 10 or more.

Trains will depart St. Louis Union Station at 4:30, 6:00 and 7:15 p.m. every night during the season. Trains also run at 8:30 p.m. on selected dates.

The beloved story of The Polar Express comes to life when the real train departs for a round-trip journey to the North Pole led by a cast of talented characters, including the boy, the hobo, the Conductor, dancing chefs and Santa and his elves. Set to the sounds of the motion picture soundtrack, passengers will relive the magic of the classic story as they are whisked away for a one-hour trip to meet Santa. It’s an immersive, family-oriented experience that will create lasting holiday memories.

The Pancakes With Santa holiday meals in Union Station’s beautiful Grand Hall also are returning for the 2022 season. The meals will be held on November 19, 20, 26, 27 and December 3, 4, 10, 11, 17, 18, and 24. Guests will experience a unique 3D light show on the Grand Hall ceiling and enjoy pancakes topped with strawberries and whimsical whipped cream Santa faces. Guests can take their own photos with Santa during the breakfast. Seatings begin at 8:30 and 10 a.m.

Passengers can book holiday rides on the St. Louis Wheel and an adventure at the St. Louis Aquarium at Union Station where Santa and his elf will dive in Shark Canyon on selected dates. Guests can enhance the magic by staying overnight at the St. Louis Union Station Hotel, a Curio Collection by Hilton, in a decorated holiday suite. Get hotel information and train tickets at www.STLpolarexpressride.com.

St. Louis Union Station is located at 201 S. 18th Street, St. Louis, MO 63103. Follow on social media @unionstationstl. Phone inquiries: (314) 942-6942.

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Children grow and develop very quickly, and their formative years are short, so you need to make the most of them and ensure you form a deep and lasting parent-child relationship. In this article, we explore some of the best ways to develop e deeper bond with your children.

Positive Reinforcement

Love, warmth, and positive reinforcements are needed to ensure that children grow up with confidence; however, you need to make sure the positive comments and body language are authentic and meaningful because children are perceptive and start to see through false efforts.

If you have undergone a no-scalpel vasectomy you can offer more time to existing children.

Offer positive reinforcement by understanding their strengths and weaknesses. Constructive criticism will help them grow; they will respect you for it long-term and see you as a mentor.

Respectful Boundaries

Naturally, children act without boundaries, but it’s your job as a parent to make sure they understand conventional boundaries and work within them. This is a tricky task. How can you promote boundaries to them without becoming the target of negativity or the enemy?

Talk to your children about your expectations and society’s expectations, and try to make them understand the meaning and consequences of their actions. If children understand the boundaries, they are less likely to cross them but remember they will be upset along the way.

Open Listening

Connection is all about communication. If you want to develop a deep and lasting bond with your children for years to come, listen to what they have to say, acknowledge and validate their feelings. Remember, their emotions are very real too, and they have to be understood like you.

Listening to your child and empathizing with them helps to cultivate a strong and lasting parent-child relationship. Stay ready for the times when your child wants to talk about something important to them or give them an opportunity to check in with you whenever they want.

Shared Experiences

It’s important to develop a strong and open communication channel with your child so that they communicate freely and grow up in a well-adjusted manner, but it’s also important to have fun together and create happy memories. Make plenty of time for shared experiences and trips.

A shared experience can mean playing together in the home or garden, it can mean going on holiday in the summer, or it can mean pursuing a shared interest. These are the formative experiences that help to cultivate the kind of lasting bond with your child that develops over time.

Little Traditions

Think about the little traditions you had in your family and reflect on how they made you feel. Whether it was putting up a Christmas tree as a family, going on a family holiday, or baking together in the kitchen, these bonding activities are an excellent way to build relationships.

If you want to form deeper relationships with your kids, think about little traditions that you can introduce into their lives, these traditions might be exactly the same as the ones you had growing up, or they could be modified to suit the changing trends of the next generation.