Gingerbread Houses!

Miscellaneous

Well, I had visions of gingerbread grandeur, and while I can’t say I was terribly successful, I will say that I had a lot of fun! Last week, I met with my girlfriend Christina and we were discussing holiday crafts. I mentioned that I had never made a gingerbread house, and perhaps she and her two darling kiddos would like to join me? So this morning, they came over, and we got crackin’. I found this tutorial over at Martha Stewart on no-bake cookie cottages. Instead of gingerbread, you use graham crackers. Well, genius, I thought!

Err, not so fast. I prepped everything, and even made royal icing, apparently a decorating must. It was an easy recipe, and to be fair, it really did gel everything together fairly solidly. But the cutting of the graham crackers was a royal mess. I was an art major, for heaven’s sake! This did me absolutely no good. Like cake decorating, gingerbread-house-making is hard!

Here we are, getting started. Jude was asleep when they arrived, so he was overcome when we came downstairs and he saw Bryce & Jenna. It was like Christmas morning for him – two cool kids, plus all this candy?!?! Heaven! The chitlins snacked on graham crackers while we started shaping our houses. 

Here’s some of mine in the works. We joked that the one on the left was like my KOA Campground logo house. You know, ’cause they need one of those in the gingerbread graham cracker house village.

In a moment of desperation, I wrote Jude’s name in icing so he could have something to play with. He also consumed many a marshmallow and inadvertently, a pillow mint that Bryce decided to feed him.

Here we are with our houses taking shape. Mine were way messier than Christina’s. She made a GORGEOUS chapel.

Copious candy consumption was of course a part of this little adventure. It was like Halloween . . . but with icing.

Here’s my cutie, Bryce. Isn’t he a doll? Such a little sweetheart.

Here’s our sweet little candy village!  Chrisina’s chapel on the left, my ramshackle houses there on the right.

A closeup. Jelly beans, sprinkles, licorice pieces, peppermints, and coconut flakes for the snow. Oh, and that house on the right? Well, they didn’t get snow; they have that kind of all-winter grass that stays perpetually in green. Love those neighbors, don’t you?

Graham Cracker Griswolds’. A path of gingerbread men sprinkles, and Jujube Christmas lights. Oh, and that green blob on the left is supposed to be a tree/bush. See, this decorating business is hard!

Graham Cracker Chapel with Jujube stained glass window. And even a couple of wedding bell candies  left over from a friend’s bridal shower!

with love,
Rachel

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