CTA Claus Is Coming To (Up)Town

After Thanksgiving, there are two ways to get into a festive state of mind, courtesy of the CTA: The always-popular Holiday Train and Holiday Bus.

By bus:

The antlers, they sleigh us! Ride with Santa in the Jewel-Osco Holiday Bus on various routes throughout the city. Exact times are not yet available, but we'll keep you informed.

The bus's exterior has a red nose, antlers(!!!), Christmas lights, and a "Ralphie The Reindeer" wrap. The interior leaves no space undecorated, with strings of lights, festive seats, candy-cane striping, and Santa and his elves holding court in the back.

The routes that go near or through Uptown are:

• #92 Foster — Thursday, November 30
• #22 Clark — Friday, December 1 (photo opportunities available)
• #22 Clark — Saturday, December 2 (photo opportunities available)

The entire Holiday Bus schedule is here.

By Train:

photo courtesy CTAweb on Flickr

Double your fun! One bonus of having both Red and Purple Line both stopping at Wilson now is more chances to ride CTA's Holiday Train.

It apparently was on the Red Line this past Saturday, although the schedule was not up on CTA's website then. If you saw it, mazel tov!

It begins running on various lines around the city starting the week after Thanksgiving. It is due to be in Uptown on these dates:

• Red Line — Tuesday, December 12
• Purple Line — Wednesday, December 13
• Red Line — Thursday, December 14
• Purple Line — Friday, December 15
• Red Line & Purple Line — Saturday, December 16 (followed by the six-car Elves' Workshop Train). There will be photo availability.
• Purple Line — Thursday, December 21

The entire schedule is here; exact times will be added closer to the dates. The CTA's website says, "The train generally operates from about 1pm to 8pm on weekends and 3pm to 7pm on select weekdays (schedules for each rail line will vary), and will make stops at all stations along the respective routes."