Gingerbread Houses!!!!

I love the holidays.  All the great events to bring together friends and family.  I will attend any & all holiday festivities I can :)  The holidays are my favorite time of the year.  In true holiday lover fashion, I invited our family over for some gingerbread house decorating.

I know what you're thinking......  Yes, yes, yes, technically you are correct.....  They are graham cracker houses BUT who's making a list & checking it twice?  Only Santa.  Only Santa people!

Decorating these are a tradition in our house.  We've been doing it since Connor was about 2.  We've made them in various ways but this year was the best!  I used an online tutorial for cutting the ends of the houses & it worked perfectly!

After reading about how to properly shape the houses, I read everything I could on 'gluing' them together.  I made a royal icing concoction (that tasted great!) and made the houses a few hours before the decorating commenced.

This was the best plan.  There have been many years that we've sat around waiting for them to dry OR the kids have decorated the walls as they fell - not a pretty site, crying & fussing & candy everywhere.  Oh wait, that still happened this year but, we had some really cute houses too.  HA!  Its never a party until there's a melt down & lots of crying.  When does that stop?  My kids are 9 & 7 and this is still how they end a good time.

  

                                          Connor's Villa

                                          Cayden's Sugar Shack

 

                                          Joseph & Alaina's Chanukah houses

 Next year we will be making these again.  Did I say I love the holidays?  I do!  I also love spending time with friends & family so plan to come on over next year for a gingerbread decorating party.  You're all invited!