Christmas Tradition #2

Tonight for Family Home Evening we decorated our gingerbread house. This tradition started when I was a kid. Each year my brothers and sisters and I would put togeher and decorate our own gingerbread house made out of graham crackers. For the first few years we were married, I made Ryan carry on this tradition with me, and he and I would make gingerbread houses out of graham crackers. Last year I decided to do a big gingerbread house made out of real gingerbread, instead of the small ones, and now that is becoming our family tradition.
Making the gingerbread and cutting out all the pieces is alot more time consuming and labor intensive than the graham cracker ones, but I kinda like all of us decorating the house together. Plus I like the challenge of doing it homemade, and not a store bought kit. Maybe in a few years, as the kids get older, I'll go back to the graham.
I started the whole process about 2:30pm this afternoon, and the last pieces of house came out of the oven about 5:30 pm! When Ryan got home from work I put him in charge of putting the house together while I made dinner (waffles). After dinner we started the process of decorating. Ryan was a good sport and lasted about 45 minutes with the kids. After they were sufficiently sugared up, we put them to bed, and I finished decorating it myself. (I secretly love decorating the house, I just couldn't leave it when the kids went to bed, I had to add more to it!)

Putting the house together

Ryan is the construction major, that's why he puts the house
together. I'm too impatient and don't let the icing dry, and the
walls cave in.

Adding the candy!

Ta Dah!

Ryan got a little bored at the end and gave our snowmen red hot eyes
and samurai swords. Apparently our house needs protection
from invaders.

The finished product after I did my last minute additions.