Activity #3

Here's a great one that never gets old!!

GINGERBREAD HOUSES!!!!!!!

You can go about this in a couple of different ways. First you can go the quick route which is going to the grocery store and buying one that is pre-assembled and all you have to do is put the decorations on. This is great for younger kids or if you don't have a lot of time or patience (which is common this time of year!!). Grocery stores usually carry the small ones while Costco or Sam's Club will carry bigger ones. These kits can also be purchased at Williams-Sonoma at a few different price points. The general rule is small one for one kid and the bigger one for multiple kids. My four worked on a Costco one and had it finished in about 30 minutes with very little help from me! They had an absolute blast and each had their own part to work on.

Another way to go is the Martha Stewart way, you go girl if this is how you roll!!!! Bake gingerbread and cut out each individual shape. Once they've cooled you can assemble and decorate it. You can purchase a Gingerbread House mold on-line to bake your batter in (if some of you Martha's don't already own one!) that will leave it with lots of detail for you to use as a guide when decorating. You can also use graham crackers held together with frosting but these tend to be a little flimsy and hard to decorate.

Then finally, if you have a budding little artist in the family like I do there's this option!!! This one will take the course of two days...yes, you read this correctly 2 days. So if you have no time or patience, this is NOT the option for you :) !!! My daughter, Claire, did this in her art class. They cut out pieces of cardboard and hot glued them together in the shape of a house, complete with chimney. Once they dried really well they decorated them with real royal icing and candies. She had a blast doing this and did the majority of it on her own. If you choose to go this route, I highly recommend parental supervision on the cutting and hot gluing. You may want to have your child draw out the shapes for YOU to cut out. Do these steps the night before you want to decorate so it has a chance to sit for awhile and let the glue dry completely.

Suggested materials to use for decorating:
Big Marshmellows
Red Hots
Peppermints
Icing (ready made in the tub or make your own royal icing)
Butterscotch rounds or any other solid color round candies
Starburst candies, they can be stretched and rolled out to use on roofs
Ice Cream Cones can be placed upside down and used as Christmas trees
Gumdrops
Food coloring to tint your icing if you like
Candy Canes


I'm providing you with links for the Williams-Sonoma houses, the molds and the icing. I have not used the molds or the recipe for the icing so if you go this route, let me know how it goes so I can do it next year.

Have so much FUN!!! Enjoy this time with your kids because as I'm finding the time goes by fast. My oldest is already 11 years old!