The Christmas Train — Victory Camp

The Christmas Train is a holiday experience hosted at Victory Camp in Alvin, Texas, about 25 miles south of Houston. The operator describes a ride through a winter wonderland on open-air railroad coaches, past thousands of Christmas lights and displays.

According to the operator, Victory Camp was founded to reach the next generation, and people of Living Stones Church decorated the camp and the train track for Christmas and invited the community to experience it. The first train, nicknamed "Old Smokey", was bought from the San Antonio Zoo. A second train and extra track were later bought from a theme park in Canada, which allowed the ride to expand into a new section of the camp.

The operator says park admission and parking are free. Free attractions include a decorated walking trail around Victory Lake, a scavenger hunt for the "Lost Toys" in the miniature Christmas village of Thompsonville, letters to Santa at the North Pole Post Office, and the Great Elf Show, a free live stage show presented by the student ministry of LS Church. Photos with Santa, go-kart rides at Santa's Speedway and the Polar Slide are paid extras, and the camp has a pizza restaurant, concessions, a coffee and hot cocoa counter and a gift shop.

A train ride in open-air railroad coaches through a Christmas-lit winter wonderland. Tickets are sold for 30-minute time blocks; the train leaves within the block you choose, and several trains depart per block. Around the ride you can walk the lighted trail, search for the Lost Toys, watch the Great Elf Show (seating is first come, first served once the doors open) and visit Santa, who the operator says is in residence every operating night while the train is open.

Victory Camp, 1407 Victory Lane, Alvin, TX 77511. Park admission and parking are free; the train ride needs a ticket for everyone aged three and over, and children two and under ride free. The operator recommends buying tickets online in advance for the best selection of dates and times. If a time still shows tickets available, you may be able to buy tickets for it at the door, but with limited availability and extended wait times. All tickets are non-refundable. A ticket can be moved to another night through the EXCHANGE link in the ticket e-mail at least 24 hours before departure; same-day exchanges are not available, and no-shows get no refund or exchange. Trains keep running in light rain; if the operator cancels or delays a night for extreme weather or mechanical problems, the ticket office offers rain checks. Photos with Santa are an extra charge, and tickets for the go-karts and the Polar Slide are bought at the park. Groups of 20 or more and private parties are handled through the group ticket and private party forms linked from the operator's ticket page. For questions the operator recommends sending a message through its Facebook page, because phone calls may take 24 hours to be returned; the camp's phone number is 281-388-2267.