Run, Run, As Fast As You Can...

Run, run, run! As fast as you can!

I have always wanted to have a gingerbread house decorating party. Slathering royal icing and sugary candies onto graham crackers is one of my kids' favorite holiday traditions. While they aren't particularly into other crafty stuff, the Little Nguyens can totally get their craft on with gingerbread houses! And, to be quite honest, I love getting my craft on, too -- call it a creative outlet. When I mentioned the idea of having a party where we would invite friends to decorate gingerbread houses and eat cookies and drink hot cocoa, the response, of course, was an unfaltering, "Yes!!" I promised myself that, no matter how busy December got, this was the year for our first gingerbread shindig.

Snickerdoodle assembly lineChief Dough Ball MakerChief Dough Ball RollerOne more...ready to bake!

A mischievous gingerbread boy, advertising sweet treats!

Aside from the whole series of If You Give a Mouse a Cookie books and, of course, anything Curious George, the Second Little Nguyen's favorite reads include all of Jan Brett's gingerbread stories. Who wouldn't love them, with all of the beautiful, candy-covered illustrations? We have read them over, and over, and over, and over... Thinking of those stories made our invitations a snap to create. The food was easy, too -- cookies and cocoa, of course! On Thursday after school, the Little Nguyens helped make Snickerdoodles (for those kids who don't like gingerbread) for their friends. It was an assembly line cookie-making process, with the First Little Nguyen forming the dough balls and the Second Little Nguyen rolling them in cinnamon-sugar.Gingerbread NeighborhoodGingerbread banner

On Thursday evening after the Little Nguyens went to sleep, Courtney and I "glued" our graham cracker gingerbread houses together. Talk about pre-fabricated -- it was a pre-planned neighborhood. After much research (we wanted these suckers to stick!!), we found the right "mortar" with no real egg whites in it since little ones would inevitably be consuming it. It was just right, and I am happy to say that not one gingerbread house fell apart, even after being touched by little fingers. Now, all they had to do was dry overnight and wait to be decorated. Little buddies, having fun.

Gingerbread architectReaching for more...And who says boys aren't good with piping bags!? He's a PRO!First one done!
Our littlest friend enjoys her own gingerbread manThe epitome of delicious cuisine (or a tummy ache!)

I think our little friends had fun, and I know the Little Nguyens did. It was an hour-and-a-half of easy-to-plan excitement, and it warms my heart to know that my kids will remember getting together with friends to do out-of-the-ordinary things. Enjoying some hot cocoa....

...and eating the leftover icing!The kids exchange their little trinkets...
After finishing their cocoa and cookies, the kids exchanged gifts. Each one had brought to the party an inexpensive, wrapped gift, and we played a musical game (think: musical chairs), passing them around the circle until the music stopped. After turning the music on and off a number of times, and torturing them enough, they got to open their gifts and thank their friends. All I have to say is, wow. The Target $1 bins were stocked with Slinkies of all shapes and sizes this season!! But it was fun and everyone got to leave with a little something fun.

A little gift for me! Thanks, Meredith!
Two sweet friends brought me unexpected gifts (I should throw parties for kids more often!!), and I had a dreamy time trying to decide which I would choose to enjoy a glass of after the Little Nguyens went to sleep: Cabernet Sauvignon or Pinot Grigio! Disappointingly, my two dogs had to go and turn that dreamy thought into a nightmare, though. I had put Ellie and Betsy upstairs in our bedroom during the party so they wouldn't torment the children with their licking and loving and wagging...along with a box of Christmas stuff I wanted to get out of the way for the party. In the bottom of that box were 30 individual packets of Swiss Miss hot cocoa that I was planning to include in some goodie bags for Thomas' classmates. The doggies sniffed those out easily, I am sure, and let me know in their own way how much they disliked being "excluded" for such a festive occasion. We'll just say that, instead of a Friday night date with Pinot and Cab Sauv, I had a steamy date with Bissell! Oh, well. At least the cocoa came out of the carpet!

Two little gingerbread houses, just waiting to be eaten!