Category Archives: gingerbread house

gingerbread house (2019)

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I took what I think was my biggest break from blogging yet, but honestly, it was refreshing to not think about it for a while. With mandated quarantine going on right now due to COVID-19, I’m actually happy to revisit Christmastime through my photos as I spend a little time catching up.

So, right before Christmas, I surprised the girls with a gingerbread house kit. Eve didn’t get to help this time, since we knew her “helping” would be a bit destructive, so we made it while she was napping.Decorating is serious business.It’s also serious fun.Kaya, Kaelyn, and Nella came up with their own design and pattern for the house.They divided up the workload evenly, and all I had to do was put the icing where they wanted it.Michael snuck this one of me. I love finding these candid shots later on.Their houses have become more and more elaborate over the years. It’s been really fun to see the designs evolve.Can it be Christmas again? I just love the sweet, cozy warmth of gingerbread and the tree lights.

gingerbread houses (2018)

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January has almost come to an end, and I haven’t blogged a single thing about Christmas yet. Ahhh! In an effort to be caught up on at least some of this before February, I thought I’d start with our simple little gingerbread houses.

When Michael, Eve, and I returned home from Spain, we were really eager to start some Christmas festivities, since the month was nearly half over, and it felt like we had missed quite a bit. Confession: I had these gingerbread house kits in the closet since the previous year, but we never got around to doing them (my morning sickness prevented me from doing a lot of things I wanted to do last year). So, everyone was excited to finally open them!A few red-nosed reindeer came to visit! This was Nella’s first time ever helping to decorate any type of food, so Daddy helped her out a lot.Michael went to his work Christmas party halfway through our activity, but the older girls kept on diligently working. Too little to decorate, but definitely not too little to look completely adorable while she watched us!Mine and Kaelyn’s!
Kaya’s and Nella’s/Daddy’s!These little activities are the best. I had to jump into a picture!And then Nella joined in, too! I love my little ladies.And then there were only 11 days until Christmas!

gingerbread house 2016

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Making a gingerbread house at Christmastime has become a much-anticipated tradition in our family. It’s not something I ever did growing up, so it’s been extra fun to do this new activity with my kids.

This year, we used one of the Wilton kits. I am interested in doing one from scratch eventually, but with all the cookies I already make each holiday season, it just seems so much easier to build one this way.

Daddy helped the girls put the walls together one evening, and then we let it dry overnight.
Kaya and Kaelyn wanted to get to work as soon as they woke up in the morning. They also loved pretending to eat it! They’re still a little young to use a piping bag, so I put the frosting on the way they wanted it and they applied the candies.
Suddenly, some of the eating was no longer just pretend… They somehow managed to restrain themselves from eating all the decorations, and we ended up with a pretty cute little house!I love how their project turned out.Kaya really wanted to make a flower design on one side, just like the example on the box!Where there’s candy, there’s bound to be craziness!

our gingerbread house 2014

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For the first time ever, we made a gingerbread house! It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, but it wasn’t a family tradition growing up and making one from scratch just seemed kind of intimidating. So… I bought a kit on sale (last year, actually), and we spent one evening a few days before Christmas building it together.

It might not look it, but Kaya was actually pretty excited!
_MG_5847 Michael saw us struggling a little with the basic structure, so he helped out with the foundation and let Kaya and I go crazy decorating the rest of it._MG_5849 Blurry… but cute anyway. I had so much fun spending some one-on-one time with my big girl._MG_5851 Our house is far from a masterpiece, but hey, I’d say it isn’t too bad for our first try!_MG_5871 _MG_5866 Kaya kept “knocking” on the front door and pretending to eat it (except one time I’m 95% sure she actually had those pink and purple gumdrops in her mouth…)!_MG_5867 Our kind neighbors also surprised us with a handmade gingerbread house! They obviously have a lot more experience with this- she said her grandmother has been making them for years, and they always give them to people they think would enjoy it most! We definitely liked having it on display this month._MG_5877 Next year, I think we might try to do one from scratch!_MG_5879