Gingerbread House

The girls have always been excited about making gingerbread houses. So this year when I saw that Publix bakery had a fresh made gingerbread house in the box with icing and candy decorations for $24.99 I bought it. I hate buying the ones from a box that are pre-wrapped because you never know how long they have been sitting on the self. Or should I say, how many years they've been sitting on the shelf. We decided before we build our gingerbread house we should see how the experts make them. We went to the Gingerbread Extravaganza. The Jacksonville historical society sponsors a tour of about 50 gingerbread houses built by bakers and novice alike. The entrance fees go to Habitat for Humanity and the gingerbread houses are auctioned off for more money when the exhibit is over. We spent over an hour looking at the different houses. There was a scavenger hunt for the kids and we voted on which we liked best. (The girls are pictured here beside the one they voted for.) Emma liked the sand castle, Kristen liked the mice coming out of the Mandarin Community Center and Hannah like a little one made from graham crackers that a child made from one of the local schools. There were a lot of places locally like San Marco, Jacksonville Zoo, Mandarin Community Center and many more. I like the houses that were based on books like The Wizard of Oz and Dr. Seuss.

Then we went home and started building our own. Each child picked a certain part of the house they would like to decorate. First, they had to draw the area out on paper and draw in what candies they would place where. (I thought this would be a good map building skill.) Next, it was time to make royal icing and start decorating. I have included pictures of our creation. The kids ate off it for a week and invited our elderly neighbors over for a "showing." Next year the girls want to build the gingerbread house early and donate it to the Gingerbread Extravaganza to help raise money for Habitat for Humanity. I always try to tie whatever we make back into "giving," instead of "getting." I feel that is lost in today's world. We were able to share, bring smiles and show the love of Christ to our elderly neighbors this year. Next year we will help raise money for those without a home.