Welcome to the Ninth day of the 12 Days of Christmas, Today we are talking about Gingerbread Houses.
A Gingerbread house to me is a symbol of the Holiday Season. Every year, even before kids I would buy a gingerbread house kit and put it together. My Son's first Christmas we got a Gingerbread house and built it together (though he spent most of his time in the high chair licking the royal icing and decorating the ginger cookies I gave him with Cheerios.
Some years we change it up and buy a different kit, there are so many options to choose from. The best part is, most kits come with everything you need to completely build and decorate a house. In 2013 the year of the Ice Storm many were faced with difficulties after the loss of power that left people in the dark for days and spoiled food in their fridges just before Christmas.
We went without power for almost 48 hours (we were some of the lucky ones), we were lucky enough that we have amazing neighbours that let us stay with them and stay warm. We ate every snack food possible and I remember cooking on a camp stove in the dark.
When power was finally restored to our neighbourhood, the ice had become so heavy on some branches that a tree fell and took out the main power line to our neighbours house. We returned their generosity, and had them spend the night with us. Our tiny 2 bedroom apartment slept 8 people and 3 Cats.
With most of the food in our fridges spoiled, the neighbour and I ventured to the closest grocery store that was open and bought a few necessities to get us through. We saw some gingerbread kits and thought it would be a great activity to keep my son entertained. We had power, but cable and phone lines were still down (so no internet or tv).
My son spent the evening with his 'girlfriends' building a gingerbread train, and house. My son kept getting frustrated as the train kept falling apart (he blamed the girls and their terrible building skills) but he was happy to squeeze copious amounts of Royal icing into his mouth. Building those kits turned a terrible situation into one with fond memories.
The last few years we have worked really hard and made some really impressive houses (impressive for a store bought kit and trying to decorate them with kids of different ages and skill levels decorating them). I would love to make homemade Gingerbread houses, I love baking gingerbread, but I have yet to do it. It's on my Christmas Bucket list for next year. We have yet to build our gingerbread house this year, but I think I'll save that for my son's upcoming party as it will give the kids something to do.
Something about the smell of gingerbread, the sugar and the sounds of laughter as we build our houses and memories together that gets me right in the feels.
Do you build gingerbread houses?
~Mommy Dearest
A Gingerbread house to me is a symbol of the Holiday Season. Every year, even before kids I would buy a gingerbread house kit and put it together. My Son's first Christmas we got a Gingerbread house and built it together (though he spent most of his time in the high chair licking the royal icing and decorating the ginger cookies I gave him with Cheerios.
Some years we change it up and buy a different kit, there are so many options to choose from. The best part is, most kits come with everything you need to completely build and decorate a house. In 2013 the year of the Ice Storm many were faced with difficulties after the loss of power that left people in the dark for days and spoiled food in their fridges just before Christmas.
We went without power for almost 48 hours (we were some of the lucky ones), we were lucky enough that we have amazing neighbours that let us stay with them and stay warm. We ate every snack food possible and I remember cooking on a camp stove in the dark.When power was finally restored to our neighbourhood, the ice had become so heavy on some branches that a tree fell and took out the main power line to our neighbours house. We returned their generosity, and had them spend the night with us. Our tiny 2 bedroom apartment slept 8 people and 3 Cats.
With most of the food in our fridges spoiled, the neighbour and I ventured to the closest grocery store that was open and bought a few necessities to get us through. We saw some gingerbread kits and thought it would be a great activity to keep my son entertained. We had power, but cable and phone lines were still down (so no internet or tv). My son spent the evening with his 'girlfriends' building a gingerbread train, and house. My son kept getting frustrated as the train kept falling apart (he blamed the girls and their terrible building skills) but he was happy to squeeze copious amounts of Royal icing into his mouth. Building those kits turned a terrible situation into one with fond memories.
Something about the smell of gingerbread, the sugar and the sounds of laughter as we build our houses and memories together that gets me right in the feels. Do you build gingerbread houses?
~Mommy Dearest
My gosh that gingerbread house is absolutely adorable ... but the mess that awaits in the end I do not look forward to. I have newborn little boy so I know for a fact it will be messy and even more in the near future.
ReplyDeleteThis is a classic activity. Our family has recently added gingerbread houses to our list of Christmas Traditions.
ReplyDelete