It is nearly Christmas Eve, and the gingerbread house had not yet appeared...
...until this morning.
I stayed up late last night, baking, and decorating away.
Actually, I didn't stay up too late. A small house like we enjoy, for a Christmas Eve treat, takes about three hours from start to finish. If you haven't tried one of these from scratch yet, let me encourage you to take the plunge. They are so much fun.
Actually, I didn't stay up too late. A small house like we enjoy, for a Christmas Eve treat, takes about three hours from start to finish. If you haven't tried one of these from scratch yet, let me encourage you to take the plunge. They are so much fun. I used our usual template (from here), and a single batch of gingerbread dough, following Betty Crocker's gingerbread people recipe, with a butter cream frosting.
I saved the template from last year, paper clipped in the back of my cookbook, so I didn't have to print it out again. Which sped things up a bit.
I saved the template from last year, paper clipped in the back of my cookbook, so I didn't have to print it out again. Which sped things up a bit.
In fact, it all came together so fast, I almost forgot to place the little gingerbread man inside, for D to find, this morning.
It was the first thing he checked for.
From our house to yours - Merry Christmas! We'll see you on the other side (Lord willing).
It's great to be a homeschooler.
12 comments:
It is beautiful!!! I have always purchased a kit, but after reading this post, I am thinking that I might want to bake and decorate my own next year. So, you do all of the decorating? Do you always do it while the children sleep so they wake up to find it?
Merry Christmas!
That was on my list of things to do this year that just never happened.
Christy - Yes, I generally try to decorate it while they are sleeping - sometimes I bake it when they are up, and then decorate it while they are napping. We decorate a lot of cookies and things together, but the house is my gift to them.
Ticia - It's not Christmas yet - you could still put one together this afternoon :)
I like the way you added stained glass to your gingerbread house. I think it is interesting that you make it for the kids. I have never heard of it done that way before.
Bless you, you're such a good mom. It turned out so pretty. Maybe one day I'll be brave and try a real house. We did our house today, but ours was preassembled. Little J kept asking about it all week too!
Merry Christmas.
Little Wonders - Making your own really isn't hard - give it a try! And, if the worst happens, and it collapses, you still have yummy gingerbread to eat :)
Oh Wow! Great tip there with the cans! It is one reason we don't enjoy frosting house making - they fall over. . . . We've made graham cracker houses too. Great Tips!
I think decorating part is the fun part but I can't seem to put together the house itself without falling apart...and that's the pre-assembled ones! Next year, I might try graham crackers...or better yet, cardboard cut-outs since JC can't eat them anyway. Yours came out beautiful!
Lovely ... have a WONDERFUL Christmas with your beautiful family!
Looking forward to sharing the homeschool fun again next year ... we'll be away so won't catch up on your posts until then. All the best, V.
I had hoped to make one this year, but it didn't happen. Yours looks great!
Merry Christmas!
Cute gingerbread house!
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