This weekend is a busy one in the River Parishes. While football fans are sure to have today’s LSU game and tomorrow’s Saints game on their minds, there are plenty

of holiday activities planned to keep everyone in the Christmas spirit.

Today, the Holiday Express will be making a stop in LaPlace. The old-fashioned train, done up in full holiday regalia, will stop at Hemlock Street for about an hour this evening starting at 4 p.m. Children are welcome to climb aboard the train and visit with Santa, who will be handing out bags of holiday goodies.

Also Saturday, Blessed to Be a Blessing will host its third annual “Let Me Love You Brunch” at Choice the Event Place in LaPlace. Attendees are asked to bring a gift-wrapped toy for either a boy or a girl. The brunch will be held from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., and the Rev. Judge Penny Brown Reynolds will be the guest speaker.

Then Saturday night, the adults will get a chance to get in the holiday mood with the 36th annual Christmas Bonfire Party at Oak Alley Plantation. The next day begins the plantation’s weekly Champagne Christmas Brunch service.

After his train trip Saturday, Santa will board a helicopter and swoop down on the levee in St. Charles Parish for the annual Norco Christmas Parade. The parade starts at 2 p.m., and this year’s theme is “Norco Noel: A Musical Christmas.” The parade will follow the traditional route, beginning on River Road, traveling north on Good Hope Street and then south on Apple Street before disbanding at the Capital One Bank building. Children will get another opportunity to visit with Santa after the parade in the Capital One parking lot.

Young or old, there is no reason any resident of the River Parishes should not be in the Christmas spirit after this weekend.