Overheard at . . . an Annual Gingerbread Party

“I dared him to use mini-wienies on his house.”

I thought you would all enjoy the result. The kids only became more creative from there, competing to see who could make the funniest gingerbread house using the appetizers alongside the candy. The houses wouldn’t last longer than the night of the party (especially the ones using shrimp), but added a whole new level of fun for both the grownups and kids.

This, actually, turned out to be the year of Gingerbread houses for me. It all started at Thanksgiving when we went to the Sheraton in Seattle to appreciate the huge Gingerbread houses on display there.

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The theme was nursery rhymes… and there was everything from Hickory, Dickory Dock, to The Cow Jumping over the Moon. I don’t remember the theme of my favorite one, but it was a town complete with bookstore and pub.

My daughter’s school also held a gingerbread decorating party. I am always glad when the mess can be made at someone else’s house. So I enjoyed watching the kids and teachers build their amazing houses. I also learned a new trick- molding Rice Krispie treats. They were using it to make dogs, bushes, lamp posts. Pretty cool.

Then, on the first day of school vacation my daughter had a little party to decorate these huge gingerbread men we found at Costco. Watching the young girls create their design made me appreciate how unique each one of us is in how we think and plan and execute. In fact, this was true of every gingerbread decorating event I attended. Whether it was lining up the candies in a pattern on a roof, drizzling food color gel over the window edges, stacking cheese and shrimp to make a flagpole, or merging two houses to make a condo, gingerbread decorating brings out the designer in all of us. It forces our imagination to keep up with the sweet joy of the candy being used. And shows us that, like the season of Christmas itself, it is less about the end result, and more about the time spent with friends.

May your Christmas be filled with just such time spent with family and friends and, like gingerbread decorating, your 2013 be as crazy as you choose to design it.

Merry Christmas!
Deanne