Here's the date when tickets for Pullen Park's 2018 Holiday Express will go on sale

It's about 308 days until Christmas. And, according to a few moms and a grandma, who have contacted me in recent weeks, it's time to start planning for Pullen Park's Holiday Express.

If you haven't been around these parts at Christmas, I'll share that Holiday Express is the sought-after ticket of the season. Thousands descend on Pullen Park near downtown Raleigh over eight days on select December evenings to visit with Santa, to take in the park's Christmas lights and to ride the park's kiddie train and carousel.

Challenges include securing enough staff and volunteers to cover all eight nights of the festival. It takes 65 staff members and volunteers each night to run the event. The park also is completely closed to the public on the days of the event to control entry into the event and protect the lights, equipment, activity stations and more. So adding more nights would add even more days when the general public couldn't play at Pullen Park, a public park.

And, not only can't the general public play at Pullen during the event, the park's other venues - Pullen Aquatics Center and Pullen Community Center - must close early each evening of the Holiday Express to accommodate the event. Those closures push swimmers, community groups and clubs out of the spaces they use on a regular basis all year, the city says.

Now go enjoy your winter and spring and most of the summer!