Gingerbread Houses 2013

One of my favorite Christmas traditions is the evening we decorate Gingerbread Houses.

I have posted pictures of previous years here and here and here.

This year it was four of us. A small intimate gathering. Brimming with enough enthusiasm (and bowls of candy) to fill a village.

And that is exactly what we did!

My husband and I took on a village, which we referred to as CandyLand....

Houses assembled. Candy bowls filled.

Laying out the road and deciding how many trees to include.

Peppermint candy lane after melting in the oven.

Last minute details, ooops mailbox needs a flag.

Welcome to our CandyLand village - would you like a gum drop?

Our youthful guests spent time picking a theme, crafting 'jolly rancher' designs and working on miniature people.

Ta da, here is a discreet (and quite beautiful) Gingerbread Meth House featuring Walt and Jesse from the hit series Breaking Bad.

The inspiration!

Walt, Jesse, blue Jolly Rancher candy meth.....drying on the cutting board.

Such a sweet home!

Walt is out front in his hazmat suit.

Aerial shot - blow back from the explosion has landed bits of meth in snow piles.

Just before Walt and Jesse hit the ground!

A really fun tradition.

 And photo-worthy!

Gingerbread Houses

Are a big part of our holiday tradition.

Years ago we took the time to design blueprints, cut out templates, roll dough and bake the components. We created faux glass windows and set twinkle lights inside to cast a dreamy glow.

Fast Forward....to this year.

Six people, 3 kits (1 mini-village and 2 big houses assembled and dried ahead of time), 3 piping bags, lots of potential landscaping materials (pretzels, marshmallows, shredded wheat cereal, edible rocks) and a slew of gum drops and other candies.

Our creative group scored very high in originality.

We did, however, fall down in the area of execution and precision.

Here are some pictures.

The Green House featured a solar panel, garden and Prius (plugged in and getting charged).

Gum paste Santa on pretzel legs took 'a dive'.
No problem, it became a large ham in the process of being cured.
Hey, if you grow your own vegetables, it only makes sense to raise your own meats.

The Fun House has a putting green, lit walkway, shamrock over front door and a large dragon.
The gazebo took 'a dive' and became a bonfire. The gingerbread man is grilling over hot flames.
Gum paste Santa had a meltdown on the chimney and was speared and put out of his misery.

The Mini Village featured lots of water, fish, a dog and Santa who started to drown but revived

by doing the backstroke. Elsewhere the pretzel bridge collapsed and was replaced by an abominable

marshmallow snowman who was unable to forge the raging river.

By the end of the night, all our houses had a story to tell!