One more Christmas thing I wanted to share. The kids and I built Gingerbread Houses one afternoon. It was really fun!
I searched Pinterest for ideas. I really liked the small little house that you make using a milk carton...like the school lunch size of milk carton. But, I didn't have any of that kind and with sick kids I couldn't go to the store. After searching I found a site that gave great tips for using graham crackers and how to cut them. Tip: Use a bread knife and gently saw back and forth to make a cut. It works great for the end pieces to create a roof pitch! I also looked up a recipe for frosting that turns to glue...really strong...Royal Icing.
We laid out the pieces on little bits of cardboard that I cut from our recycle pile.
One thing I WISH I had done before we began is to cover the table with newspaper. Ugh! Frosting Glue Galore!! Big mess.
We made two different shape houses, one long and one short. Each kid picked what they wanted to make. I helped pipe the frosting onto the seams and then stand the walls up into place. In hindsight I should have assembled all the houses ahead of time and then just had the kids decorate them. That's the part they really wanted to do.
I searched Pinterest for ideas. I really liked the small little house that you make using a milk carton...like the school lunch size of milk carton. But, I didn't have any of that kind and with sick kids I couldn't go to the store. After searching I found a site that gave great tips for using graham crackers and how to cut them. Tip: Use a bread knife and gently saw back and forth to make a cut. It works great for the end pieces to create a roof pitch! I also looked up a recipe for frosting that turns to glue...really strong...Royal Icing.
We laid out the pieces on little bits of cardboard that I cut from our recycle pile.
One thing I WISH I had done before we began is to cover the table with newspaper. Ugh! Frosting Glue Galore!! Big mess.
We made two different shape houses, one long and one short. Each kid picked what they wanted to make. I helped pipe the frosting onto the seams and then stand the walls up into place. In hindsight I should have assembled all the houses ahead of time and then just had the kids decorate them. That's the part they really wanted to do.
After assembling the houses we went and watched a movie while they dried.
Then, candy time!! Lots of fun candies to use.....and eat.
I was surprised how long the kids worked on their creations. The had a great time!!
In case you notice Mr. P missing from the photos....it was a sick day for him.
Ta-da!! House done! Our little village.
I LOVE the houses!!! So cute and creative. What a wonderful thing to do with the kids. Idea, instead of using newspaper try the plastic picnic table cloths on sale at Fred Meyer for pennies in late August. I used mine under the Christmas tree this year; it worked great to catch all the falling needles and any water spills.
ReplyDeleteYou have such great holiday-home-memory-makings going on. Thanks for sharing this!
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