Thursday, December 17, 2009

The Non-Annual Gingerbread House




:::::Kaylyn, disturbed at our un-sightly creation:::::

I wish I could report to you that our Gingerbread house decorating experience was a success. But, that simply is not the case.

A "disaster" is a more fitting way to describe it.

I'm just keeping it real.

That tiny little house caused my whole dining room to explode. I have witnesses...Holly??? Robyn???

One thing I am glad about is that I didn't decide to be all stupid-crazy and home make my own gingerbread, icing, and do raisins for trim instead of purchasing this pre-fab kit in a box.

I'm pretty sure that the end result would still be the same. Maybe my kids wouldn't be high from sugar.

That was not a smart move to take this on right before nap time. And I tried telling them NOT to eat the do-dads, but that wasn't fair. Seriously. They are walking around like crazy people all wide-eyed and twitching.

I'm not quite for sure exactly how ours went so wrong so quickly. I definitely do NOT like tedious detail-oriented crafts. That could have been in it. Nor is a detail-oriented craft a grand idea for 3 kids under the age of 5. What was I thinking???

One thing is for certain. I'm pretty sure we will never again make a Gingerbread House. I had good intentions of starting a tradition of making a Gingerbread House and taking a photo of them every year. How grand would it be to look back upon our beautiful pieces of art we've created over the years?

Mark my words. And I'm totally more than okay with never making one of these things again.

10 comments:

Heather said...

I am SO glad I am not the only one with a horrible gingerbread house experience. I bought a kit from Target last year and the boys and I tried to put it together. It ended with me yelling at them to get out so I could try to do it myself. That didn't work out either so it ended up in the trash and I swore I would never do it again. When Mason asked for a kit this year I reminded him of how it went last year. He was fine with passing it up! :)

Cottage Dreamers said...

That picture is priceless! If your kids expect this next year maybe you can break open a box of graham crackers and they'll let you off easier! Too funny!

Hendrick Family said...

Ha! I love the picture of Kaylyn! Who came up with a house you can eat...I mean, really.

Heather

Nicole Friedel said...

Hilarious!!! Ours wasn't nearly as fun for me as I thought it'd be... I'm such a control freak and it was hard for me to give control to the kids. I do enjoy crafts, but by myself! Our kitchen was a big mess at the end, but my kids did have a large time! I haven't decided when/if we'll do it again. :)

Anonymous said...

ahhh..still looks pretty cute to grandma...bring it to my house and we'll see if i can't try and get that roof to stick better..maybe a thicker sugary icing??? maybe this is why you can't remember making these when you were 5 or so,lynsey ...seems to me they still have the same kind of kits..that still don't work... love grandma

Tracye said...

You are not alone. We had a similar disaster last year. I keep eyeballing them in the store but haven't felt the need to purchase again & couldn't really put my finger on why. Your post reminded me. Thanks!

QuiltedSimple said...

Too funny. We did the gingerbread MEN kit from wal-mart (or JoAnn's or Kmart) this year - much much easier.....
kris

mandi said...

HA!!! that picture of kk is HI-larious!!!

just an fyi- i saw that whole foods makes a tray of gingerbread men, complete with a bowl of icing, organic gum drops and organic sprinkles. maybe next year we can go halvsies and get one. i'm sure that would be waaaaaaaaay easier than houses!

Winnie said...

You've probably been told this several times now, but the trick is to assemble it beforehand with a hot glue gun. (I even glue the whole thing to the base.) Then even the youngest children can ice and decorate to their hearts content.

Aimee Landreneau said...

Wilton makes a pre-assembled one! I got one at Walmart...the whole thing was very pleasant as I could just let the kids go at it!