gingerbread |ˈjinjərˌbred| noun cake made with molasses and flavored with ginger.
I always want to find ways for our kids to be involved in our parties so our friends with children don’t have to find sitters in order to enjoy a night out. This might have been one of the most simple, but most fun parties we’ve planned all year. We found some easy-to-build gingerbread houses at Kroger for the kids—a super cheap and super fun craft for an evening at home over the holiday break! But the adults had to form teams of two or three and create their own gingerbread house using graham crackers, frosting, candy or any edible item they could find.
We made stations for each team and set out boxes of graham crackers, marshmallows of all sizes, gumdrops, Sweet-Tarts, white and milk chocolate chips, Red Hots, pretzels, gummies, and coconut shavings. My kids were in heaven. We started the timer, and everyone began to work on their house. I was surprised at just how competitive everyone was!
All the houses were so creative and fun. There was a modern-designed house, a fiesta-themed castle, a nativity and even a Dallas Cowboys stadium. My team made a Whataburger drive through and Field stacked his graham crackers up into a high-rise building (he might have won the contest if he had a few more hours to work *grin*).
In the end, we all turned in our votes and counted to see who the winners would be. Our friends Dani and Lisa ended up getting the most votes for their truly beautifully designed pink, peppermint-laced home.
While the adults competed, the kids were enjoying their time in the next room with their own gingerbread house competition, Christmas-themed face painting, Christmas balloon art and they even sang “Happy Birthday” to Jesus. I can’t stress enough just how much I LOVED the woman we hired to do the face painting. Even the adults were going over and getting their faces done! She is INCREDIBLY talented but doesn’t even have a website or social media for her business. But if you’re interested, you can contact her below:
Bernie Kelly: (972)965-7977
bkmk4@sbcglobal.net
We had so much fun with our friends, I think this will turn into an annual Harrison household Christmas tradition! A special thanks to Mo’s Italian Cafe and Deli in Midlothian for catering the event, The Dallas Tortilla Factory for the delicious holiday tamales, Vera’s Bakery Inc. for the sweet bread and pastries, and Perfectly Timed Events for pulling off the perfect party!
Until next year’s competition…
XO-
Sabrina
