My last post for Christmas Traditions

I thought I would save our Gingerbread party for last. We actually just had the party yesterday so the photos are current. I started this holiday tradition for the kids when they were older. They would invite a friend over and each child would make their house then decorate it. That first party was such a bust since the houses wouldn't stay together so we resorted to hot glue and toothpicks in an effort to hold them together. Then when they started to try and decorate them the houses couldn't support the weight of the candy and many collapsed. That is when I decided to find a local bakery that would bake and assemble the houses, which I did. Every year since then we have ordered the houses and then we go and pick them up, each in a pretty box. All that is left to do is make the royal icing for the glue to hold on the candy. It has made for a successful party ever since. As the kids grew it became their friends and their kids, then friends with kids, or grandkids. As of 3 years ago, I turned it over to my oldest daughter, Kimberly, to have for her friends and their kids. Everyone brings two bags of candy to share, that allows for a lot of variety. It is a wonderful family project and you leave with a beautiful house for the holidays. This year Kim even provided lunch for everyone, what fun!