sometimes it pays to be crafty 12.06

on black friday, the only shopping i did was in the name of crafting. at our second stop (my most despised of craft stores), i watched a girl pile a cart full of gingerbread house kits. as most people do when stuck waiting forever during the holiday season, someone ask our new friend about her chosen purchase and she replied this was the cheapest price in the city and she was buying them for several families. since i have always wanted to make one and the price was so great, i thought why not try it this year. carter immediately wanted to make the house and begged each day to put it together. i held her off exactly a week before i told her we would make it that night after school. well, let me just say, before you make a promise to your eager child, it is probably best to read the directions (right, emily). when josh arrived home and took it all out of the box, he discovered you are supposed to put the house together and let it set for 2.5-3 hours before decorating. hmmm, that' s not going to work! so, we decided to put it together after naps on saturday. i collected all the decorating supplies and josh whipped up the icing. we followed the directions to a t. but all we ended up with is this:

the icing would not hold the gingerbread pieces together like it said. no matter how many hands we had contributing, the house would not stick together. we were frustrated and josh wanted to throw the whole thing away. carter looks at us and proclaims, "this is a disaster!" okay, okay, we just needed it to hold together, right? well, i can fix that!

"seriously?", josh says. umm, seriously.

all i have to say is that wilton needs to add this step in their directions. we all know this would alleviate a lot of headaches! so, forget the icing, bust out your glue gun. (emily, i think this information would have fixed all your problems!) and now, the decorations!

when all was said and done, we had an enormous mess and a precious gingerbread house that josh said "looks like it was made by a 4 year old." 

other helpful tips include:

1. while the icing does not work well wet, once dried, it is impossible to remove. so, it will also pass as a non-toxic, child-friendly form of cement (in case you need one!)

2. prompt clean-up is recommended unless you need to refinish your floors. 

3. find additional candy to decorate with as most candy will be consumed by your quick-handed children or dropped on the floor.

next year we will be prepared!