gingerbread house decorating party

December 05, 2020



















 

We kicked off Christmas this year by hosting a gingerbread house decorating party with our little family pod of six. Carter 100% helped me from start to finish. This is obviously a wonderful activity to do with children, and even the tiniest ones can help. If you are concerned about offering so much candy, use pretzels, nuts, cereals, seeds, etc. instead. 


Day one we made the dough and baked the gingerbread pieces. I have a wonderful recipe that I've written down for you.  Find full recipe and how-to here.

Day two we covered cardboard pieces with butcher paper to act as bases, then constructed the houses with royal icing "glue".

Day three we did a decorating mock run because we were very excited and could not wait for the actual party.

Day four, party time! We asked each guest to bring a bag of candy to share but I made sure I had lots of candy varieties available as well.


This is a fun activity to do with your family or pod this year and you don't even need to bother doing it old school like I do. I know Target and Ikea sell pre-baked kits now, and of course loads of cute ones are on Amazon. Using a kit will dramatically reduce your kitchen time, but when I have Carter I'm usually looking for things we can do together, so baking the house pieces was a good thing.


You might have noticed my tablecloth. I actually cross-stitched it 30 plus years ago from a Bucilla kit. It's held up well and still looks so cute, especially for a gingerbread house decorating party!


I'll be back soon with more seasonal cooking, crafts and knitting, all of which are keeping us home; now more than ever it's important to stay home and stay safe. What activities are you doing this holiday season?


Hugs, Kristen.


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16 Comments

  1. Dear Kristen, I wish you and your dear family a truely wonderful Christmas this year and a very happy and healthy 2021. Please think of me having Chrismas in my daughter's back garden with the sprinkler on and the grandchildren in their swimming costumes running around and through it. My dear son in law usually runs through it in between each course! Best wishes from Victoria.

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    1. Thank you so much. Your Australian Christmas sounds wonderful and thinking about you and your family put a big smile on my face. xo

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  2. I always enjoy your holiday posts! My social bubble burst when my grandkids went back to in-person school, so our activities have all been moved outdoors where it is too cold for crafting, but we are having a lovely time with after school walks and hot chocolate.

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    1. Thank you! Arghh about your social bubble bursting, but at least the kids are back in school. I’m sure they and parents are thrilled. My GF visits her 18 month old granddaughter in the garden once a week. She watches her play and hasn’t held her in 9 months! We do what we have to do. Sounds like you are making memories with your covid walks. xo Kristen

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  3. The tablecloth is beautiful! Thanks for the inspiration.

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  4. Cute! Cute! Cute! Cute kid, cute tablecloth and cute gingerbread houses. Merry Christmas , Knitionary

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    1. Awww, thank you very much Candice. Merry Merry Christmas to you too. xo K

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  5. Just lovely. Plan on doing this next year! I made a few of those tablecloths and received some from my aunts and grandmothers. Actually got one out for Thanksgiving this year. Going to start using my pretty things.😇

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    1. Thank you. I am a BIG fan of using the lovely things too. Might as well, who knows if it will ever get used again after I go, right? Not to be maudlin or anything!

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  6. Thank You for sharing your Gingerbread recipe. Carter was a big help to you. He s adorable. The tablecloth is beautiful. Wishing you and your family a Blessed and Happy Christmas.
    Joan,Marion and Marilyn

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    1. Thank you for your kind comment. We baked cookies yesterday. Maybe I'll make a post of it. We were head to toe in flour and I got some good action shots I think!

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  7. What fun! My husband and the grands have done gingerbread houses or trees many times. The girls are now 20 and 24 and bake beautifully but still love the Christmas cookies and gingerbread houses. You are making great memories.

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    1. Thank you Jynx. So cute that grandad gets in on the action too. My son at 37 still likes to wrestle with a gingerbread house and after all these years, he’s pretty good at it! It’s wonderful to continue the traditions, isn’t it? xo Kristen

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  8. Thank you, Kristen. Thanks for the gingerbread-with-Carter eye candy! It goes great with my morning coffee. I had been eyeing those kits lately but we are about one year too young so I will just take notes right now. Looking forward, though, to further Christmas adventures with Carter. Some might be just perfect for a really smart Two. (There are children crafting sites everywhere but yours are so personal!) Chloe

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    1. Hi Chloe. I would say age 3 would be the absolute minimum age. He understands not to stuff all the candy in his mouth and I don't know if he would have been able to resist last year at this time. He barely understands it now! He can't use the piping bag, but he was awfully good at sticking on the candy! As for children's crafts, ours are mostly pretty the dyed macaroni and glitter masterpieces kind of thingm totally unblogworthy but fun for the littles. xo K

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