Last year, it seemed like building gingerbread houses was a bit rushed, done just before Christmas. To combat that, I made sure to have everything we needed and ready to go the first week of December. On Samichlaustag, Dec. 6, we spent a fun evening devouring sugar and decorating our houses. 
I almost caved this year and bought the pre-baked houses from Ikea, but I just love the smell of the gingerbread baking, and my kids love eating the scraps, so I went ahead and baked them myself. Just like I do every year. 🙂
We don’t really go for artistic masterpieces, but all the kids do have a basic plan they stick to. For some that plan is a nice, orderly house with a garden.
Others go for a “more is better” approach, stockpiling their favorite candy as if it was the End of Days rather than Christmastime.
And then there is the kid who doesn’t really like candy that much, but he does love sticking with tradition. So he puts just enough on that he can say the house is decorated, and goes into the kitchen to eat more gingerbread scraps. Cuz that is what he truly loves. 🙂
And now we have 5 adorable decorations for the sideboard!