As a kid, I don't think I ever made a gingerbread house. And it seems like a very important holiday tradition to have missed out on. Shortly after we returned from early Christmas in West Virginia, I happily declared we would build a gingerbread house. After all, we were on a roll. A tree had been purchased and decorated for the first time in many years AND most of the holiday shopping was done.
It was decided we would build a replica of our townhouse. Choosing a simple design we were familiar with was a smart move as we are gingerbread-building novices. Mr. P added T-supports and corner braces inside the house for stability. I wish I were kidding.
Peppermint candies for the brick columns and candycane handrails. If you look closely you can see the drop of icing for the front door knob.
If you're piping icing out of sandwich baggies (instead of an icing bag), don't be surprised if your fingernails pierce the bag and you have literal mess on your hands. Mr. P's bag never sprang a leak... until I used it. We used pasteurized egg whites for the royal icing so it was safe to eat.
My Seuss-ified trees. Rocking a sugar buzz by this point.
Banished to the rear of the house, I started work on the paver patio. This patio went down in a matter of minutes whereas the real project has taken over 3 months. Mr. P stopped working on the front porch roof long enough to observantly ask if I was placing them in a pattern. Why, yes!
If only our fencing was arches of candycanes! Another icing door knob.
While waiting for icing to set, I assembled snowmen out of gumdrops. Scrounged up some loose poppy seeds (everything bagels are messy!) for eyes and piped on pairs of candy-coated mittens. Inspiration struck and I asked for a sled.
A rather handsome sled, indeed!
This is what happens when you let snowmen run amok! Sledding accidents are nothing to giggle at. And giggling is pretty much what I did the entire time I created this macabre scene. I knew we'd succeeded when my mom thought it was disturbing and dad thought it was hysterical.
Next year's gingerbread project: a sailboat?
