gingerbread houses!

Can I start by saying thank you for the kind comments about the girls not coming to Christmas? Hugs to all of you out there who also cannot get together, especially long distances. At least these three daughters are local and I can see them outside! The families that can't be together is one of the saddest things. And, we made our gingerbread houses! We decided to opt for the sugar glue method instead of the royal icing with egg whites, partly because we wanted them to be 100% edible, and to set more quickly. (one cup of sugar, cook it in a pan on low, stirring, until it becomes liquid, then dip those edges in FAST, it sets like lightening. And it is burning hot, both Evelyn and Margaret have blisters on their hands from drips!) (But the houses are super sturdy, it really works!)

Wulf was helping! Then Grandpa got him dressed and took him outside to play in the snow, pulled him around on the sled.

Camille and Sonja worked on one house, Char and I another, then Margaret and Evelyn did a special building...which in context, makes sense. See, a long time ago there was a gingerbread contest. Aaron and Molly and Margaret build a Starbucks, which came out fantastic, but it didn't win any prizes. (Sam and Sonja made a The Battle of Verdun, with lots of red frosting, oh dear.). Anyway, it's like one of our family jokes, we bring up the Starbucks gingerbread house, and we all groan, because darn it, it should have won! So Margaret HAD to make a Dunkin!

It was so much fun!

We had a wonderful dinner, those mini frozen eggrolls and fries put in the oven, then we ordered chicken wings, unhealthy but oh so nice not to cook in the midst of the fun!

We have too many cookies!

Camille's and Sonja's house:

Mine and Char's:

It was messy, but so much fun. The girls were remembering decorating cookies through the years, and are thankful they know how to make frosting and use the piping bag. (Camille made the frosting).

We had to be creative, one of the houses is on top of the refrigerator, one up on a tall bookcase. Our bad puppies would eat the entire house if they could, in the night. Just in double case, we had Sunny in our room last night, and Suri went in Jon's. Anyway, it's snowing like a snow globe this fine morning, and I have things to do!