This weekend we were ambitious and rolled up our sleeves to make gingerbread houses with the girls. It actually went much better than I thought it would!
Time was limited, so we decided to go with pre-fab models this year. This was a German kit from our supermarket.
And these are the parts from a Swedish kit we bought at Ikea.
The secret is in the "glue" you use, I discovered!
The German kit had the best recipe:
Beat 2-3 egg whites until they are very stiff, then gradually beat in powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time (I used 3 egg whites and about 3 cups of powdered sugar in all) until the mixture is so firm that "the cut of a knife stays visible." Put this powdered sugar/egg white mix into a ziplock baggie, seal, and cut off one of the small corners to make a pastry bag.
We also covered a piece of cardboard in aluminum foil as a base for the Swedish house. If you want to make your own gingerbread, Martha has a recipe for you of course :)
Papa and Mama glued the seams while the kiddies watched.
We let the houses dry for a half hour or so until they were set.
Then the decorating fun for the girls could begin!
Sophia and Lucy obviously enjoyed this part, and a few gummi bears and m&ms disappeared into their mouths during the process.
It was our first attempt to make a gingerbread house, and for that I was pretty happy how they turned out.
The Swedish Ikea house was even cuter than the German design,
and we added little cutout cardboard figures from the German kit.
After we were finished with the gingerbread houses, we sat down for afternoon cake and tea to celebrate the fourth Advent Sunday. I've been on a baking spree again, and I hope to have some recipes posted soon. Yesterday we had an eggnog cake and a cherry cheesecake - and then we made Christmas cookies. Today, we're planning to start decorating! Hope you had a nice weekend too :)
xoxo
Stephanie
11 comments:
These are very beautiful, Stephanie. What a treat for Sophia and Lucy! Actually, what a treat for anyone!
Many good wishes for the holidays and the new year,
Clara
this is just so cool, what lucky girlies. I think I shall get my mother to send me such a kit for next year - even though my girly is 23 I reckon we'd both still love doing it!!
How darling :) and the house turned out perfect.
They were actually really easy to make - and buying the pre-fab kits was good for us. The decorating is the most fun part anyway. On the other hand, you could make your pattern much more individual if you wanted to bake the parts yourself.
But really - I think having the right mixture for the "glue" is so important. We made gingerbread houses at the kids pre-school with a runny mixture and they didn't hold up well at all!
Good luck with all of your holiday projects! I'd love to see your pics if you try any of these out :)
Although it isn't in the cards for THIS year, I've hosted several gingerbread house parties in the past where I make all the pieces ahead of time for like 8-10 houses and the kids come decorate with their parents.
pix here from a couple years ago:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/candyglendening/sets/72157603476852372/
Wanna know the REAL secret to holding the houses together? Hot Glue! Seriously, no one eats these anyway (they shouldn't think of the dust...there are always plenty of other sweets around) So having the grownups hot glue the house together 1st is easy peasy - they're dry in like 1 minute, then we cover the glued seams with royal icing and let the kids go to town with more royal icing and candy galore!
Try it next year! WaHOO!
wow Candy - you make the pieces for 8-10 houses - omg! that sounds like so much fun - but quite a lot of work for you too!! I'll have to remember your hot glue tip for next year - maybe one day I will be brave enough to host a party. I'll be sure to check out your pics on flickr :)
Totally adorable! I have to make "gingerbread" houses using graham crackers and milk cartons tomorrow with 20 first graders. Can't wait to see what they create!
I'm kitchen-challenged and had bought the ikea gingerbread house but didn't know how to glue it together, so you can imagine how grateful I am fordiscovering the "magic glue" ;-) Thank you - my twins will probably want to have your autograph in 10 years time!
These are so cute!! Your gingerbread houses and your girls. I have really enjoyed your blog this past year - such sweet posts and great ideas! Happy New Year!
Gorgeous post Stephanie ....love that you are so hands on with the girls... how wonderful for them....they are blessed.
Have a great festive season and keep warm,
best,
Sophie
Thank you all :)
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