First Gingerbread House

One Christmas tradition that I love is making a Gingerbread House . . . and I've never even made one!!!  I always see the kit at the store during the holiday season and have grand plans, but those plans have never actually been acted on.  This year seemed like the right time, so I bought one a few days ago.  The boys were so excited when I showed them the box and described our plan of constructing and decorating our very own Gingerbread House.  Lincoln seemed to know quite a lot about them, and Beau was quick to learn to say "Genna Bed Ouse" a million times!  Oh, and he also shouted "Candy on it" a million times, too!  The boys were busy dividing up the candy packets, and I went to work building the house.  I followed the instructions to a tee, in fear of our house falling down due to poor construction.  Where the instructions said to put a thin line of icing, I put a thick line instead.  It seemed a little shaky at first, so I went with the thought of more is more (instead of less is more)!  I'm glad the candy distracted them from touching the masterpiece while it was setting  up.  A few times Beau (ever the parrot) was repeating my chants of "don't fall down" and "come on icing"!

Somehow they managed to eat a yummy dinner of chicken quesadillas and fruit salad, all the while keeping an eye on the Gingerbread House that was (hopefully) getting all set so we could decorate it.  After 30 minutes, I decided it was time to test it out.  It probably wouldn't pass code, but it seemed sturdy enough! 

I divided the candy into two bowls, and they went at it!  They loved choosing a piece and placing it on the house.  I was pleased that it didn't cave under their (less than) careful technique! 

Sometimes decorating a Gingerbread House is serious business!  I love the look of concentration on their faces as Linc placed a candy piece.   It's like a delicate house of cards in our minds!

They loved this activity, and Linc was especially concerned that he put three peppermints on the roof to match the picture on the box.  He gave Beau specific orders about where to put the other two peppermints, but free thinking Beau was doing his own thing with them!  Our finished product met all of their expectations, and they are still raving about their Gingerbread House (Genna Bed Ouse)! 

To the experienced Gingerbread House maker (or even to those how just look at them in awe and never attempt), it seems that ours isn't decorated all the way.  Remember my anxiety about it caving in and using really thick layers of icing to hold the pieces together . . . well, there wasn't much icing left for decorating!  The boys didn't seem to notice, and they were pleased with the finished product.  Lincoln might have checked out the box later and questioned why we left of the candy on the front of the house, but that little aggravation hasn't come up again.  They are both super proud of their first Gingerbread House, and I am too!