Gingerbread House Bonanza

 Our advent calendar event for the 15th of December was to make gingerbread houses. The kids had been anticipating this event for weeks. As you can see I bought out the stores of their candy...gum drops, licorice, M&M's, gummy bears, peppermints, junior mints, candy canes...you name it, we had it. Matt made a huge bowl of royal icing and we had it all spread out and ready to go. We invited Nana over to help and the kids went at it.

 I helped Judah and Caleb with the construction of their houses.  They held the graham crackers and I iced them.  The key was to let the foundation sit for a few minutes to harden (research ahead a time does help a bit). After building their houses, the kids went crazy with their candy. I think it was their favorite part.

 Dad of course had to be in the midst of the mayhem. He was working on this two story snow chalet diligently. William was trying to mimic him as much as he could...which is so sweet.

 Bryn working on her Little House on the Prairie inspired cabin. Her house looked different than the rest...snow covered and surrounded by junior mints...yummy!

 Caleb working with the gum drops and making a fence next to house.  He had so much fun working out his design and painstakingly putting every piece right where it goes.

 Matt's chalet all done. He is so artistic (just like our Esther). I think he had as much fun as the kids.

The finished products...in all their glory. Each one had their own look and design. William used ice cream cones to make it look like a castle. I thought afterwards his looked like a factory. Esther made a church...even with a licorice cross.

In the end we posted all the pictures on Facebook and let our friends vote on them without knowing who made them. The kids were watching the computer all night and screamed every time a post came up with a vote. As of right now, Esther's church was in the running for first place.

All in all, this was such an awesome night for us. The kids laughed, worked together and had a great time. And of course the best part was snacking on the finished products. What a beautiful memory for our family :)