Kicking off the Christmas Season

We made our gingerbread houses the first week of December this year.  I knew it was going to get a bit crazy later on in the month and didn’t want to risk running out of time to do them all together.  Plus, it helps to get us all in the Christmas spirit.  Nothing says “Merry Christmas” like a sugar high! 🙂

We picked up lots of candy when we went big grocery shopping in Germany, and I just kept on filling the bowls while the kids worked.  We made them Monday night for Family Home Evening, but that is the night Nick doesn’t get home from school until 6:45.  So he ate dinner while the rest of the kids worked, and then quickly made a house for himself afterwards.There was plenty of candy left for him, especially his favorites.  I may have held back a few just in case…Half the fun of making the houses is eating the building supplies as you go.And there was plenty of time for that because I neglected to put the “cement” into two separate bags, so instead of the older kids being able to make their houses unassisted, I had to run back and forth putting icing on different spots for different kids.

But we all had a good time and the houses were all completed to the architects specifications. 🙂 

Yes, someone wanted to be sure and have PLENTY of candy to snack on for the month. Silly, silly girl. 🙂  My kids are funny and even eat some of the actual house, although the gingerbread has gotten rather stale by then.  They absolutely love the stuff.  I did make sure to bake up some gingerbread men a bit later on for them to snack on, and they were very happy.  I guess I could make it during the rest of the year, but somehow that would seem to take the specialness of it away, so for now it is staying a Christmastime treat.  Traditions are important, after all. haha