When I was a kid, I always wanted to make gingerbread houses at Christmas. It was probably the only thing we didn’t do at the holidays, so I am definitely not complaining. I remember one year, when I was about thirteen or so, my brother and I took matters into our own hands and built the most epic gingerbread house EVER. It was three stories tall and I’m pretty sure we didn’t use any gingerbread, but we used graham crackers, shortbread, sugar cookies, 187 different kinds of candy and about 80 tons of frosting. I wish I had a photo of it, because it was amazing, but the pictures are packed away with the rest of my parents’ stuff.
I saw a gingerbread house kit at Trader Joe’s the last time I was there, so of course I bought it for Annie. Half the fun of parenting is getting a chance to do all the things you wish you’d done, right? I’m enjoying doing all of these things with Annie – she gets such enjoyment out of everything she does, it’s impossible to not be happy around her. Especially at Christmas!
The only thing I did was “glue” the house together with some frosting I whipped up. Once the house was all together, Annie did everything else. As much as I wanted to make a cute little perfect house, I didn’t buy the kit for myself, it was for her. And I think what she made was perfect, anyway.
I set everything out in front of her and let her go to work. Lots of frosting was involved.
I’m surprised there wasn’t more of this:
She had very definite ideas of how she wanted to decorate, where she wanted the sprinkles and the people and the candy.
The initials on the roof are awesome.
See? The finished house is perfect and she is sooooooo proud of it:
I kind of want to shellack it and keep it forever.
“Mommy, do you think the family loves the candy house I made them? I hope so.”
roshan says:
Well done, Annie. The house turned out well even though you tasted some of the prep material. James in that 3rd pic is thinking – ‘umm…what is she up to now?”
shannon says:
It is adorable! A gingerbread house is one of the family traditions we have started with the kids. It was not one of mine as a child..or the hubby’s. My kids sample the building materials quite a bit more than Annie did!!
Amy says:
The Trader Joe’s gingerbread house kit is the best one I’ve seen. Good call!
Kitty @ LambAround: Life with my Sexy Nerd says:
She did a great job. Is that Rigby on the roof?
Sue says:
What a great gingerbread house, Annie. One of the prettiest that I’ve ever seen!!!!
Terri says:
My daughter made one at school and I thought the same thing, I want to keep this forever! Break out the shellac! I can’t imagine throwing it away!
Maris says:
We bought that it for my niece last year. Glad Annie also enjoyed it. Looks fun!
Maris says:
*kit
ella says:
And the front of the house looks like an A for Annabel!
Megan says:
It really is beautiful! I’m always impressed by Annie’s creative endeavors. She makes stuff at 3 that looks better than what I made when I was 8, lol.
I love how James is supervising in the third photo down!
Christine says:
I put ours in a box last year and they were fine when I pulled them out this year – some things are too hard to part with. Merry XMAS!
Mary Brock says:
Heather, did you ever post the winner of the Amazon gift card?
Heather says:
yes, I posted it on the original blog post about it! A reader named Aubrey won!
ldoo says:
Did she write those letters herself?!
Heather says:
YES! I think it was the magic of frosting because I can’t believe how neat they look.
ldoo says:
Yah, that’s impressive. My daughter is 2.5 months younger than Annie. She’s getting decent at writing letters, but Annie’s look like they were done by an adult. And that J is hard for my 5-year-old!
Jeanie says:
That is precious. Good job, Annie!
Tina says:
Pretty sure you can shellac (or lacquer?) this. My boys and I made a gingerbread man/women/children centrepiece a few years ago as a gift to my parents. They have kept it and it still looks amazing.
tami says:
I think she did a wonderful job!! ITS adorable! I love face expressions with her tongue out while she preps her house. I also wish I had a baking hat like hers!! Sooo jealous!! And the look on James face is priceless!!
Paula says:
She wasn’t sneaking frosting – she was making sure the building materials could withstand strong tongue – like winds. That’s all. Yeah.
Lanie says:
I definitely think that the family loves the candy house (if I may speak on behalf of the candy family)! It is great.
Sarah says:
Where did you get that chef’s hat?!?
Heather says:
According to my aunt, who gave it to us, it is from Sur la Tab!