Gingerbread Making: Real Personalities Come Out

It's been a long time since we've made a Gingerbread House around here.  There is a reason for that and his name is Roto Rooter.  You see long, long ago and far away or a few years back depending on your perspective, I decided it was OK to take the unused  "frosting" from the Gingerbread Kit and throw it down the kitchen sink.  I figured we didn't need it, I wanted to clean up the mess, and it was only frosting!

Let's just say that it was more like wallpaper paste. Glue.  Not something that I would recommend you throw down the disposal the day before Christmas Eve.  At least not if you hope to use your kitchen sink again without first calling in the professionals to snake your drain.

Lesson Learned. When a ten dollar kit turns into a two hundred dollar plumber visit you become a little gun shy of walking that road again.

As a result, my children have been deprived of making a Gingerbread House for the past several years.  I decided this year I would change that.  We'd set up strict guidelines for how to make the house, how to dispose of the frosting (thankfully this kit came with less gunk so not as much waste) and we discussed how we would not touch the kitchen sink, the bathroom sink or any running water or drain that entire afternoon.  Finally, there would be no telling dad about the project until it was successfully completed.

A little overboard? Maybe, but that's how we roll around here, go big or go home.  At least, I was willing to attempt the making of the house

It's funny how in the process of making this gingerbread house my children's unique skills and personalities shined. Mr C was in charge of construction (using that engineering mind) Miss A was in charge of getting the frosting in place and lining up the candy for the decorations( using both the creative and the organizational skills) and Miss M was most interested in the decorations and design (the artist and interior design elements).   Using all their gifts and skills together they created a masterpiece.

However when the final product was revealed they all joined together in their design to Deconstruct the House and eat their creation.  What?  I couldn't believe it, here I was thinking we'd have a fun decoration to look at for a few weeks and all they wanted was to eat it while it was still fresh.

Let's just say we compromised and they had it "parts" of it as an after dinner treat that night.  I might be a rule follower, but I know how to have fun too.  Oh, and my husband wanted to try a piece of the roof!