Watermelon Mama: Murphy's Gingerbread Day

Our Sunday before Christmas. I noticed when I looked for photos to put on our Christmas card that we hadn't taken too many of our family all together over the year, so every moment over the holidays that I remembered I would ask for our pic together. This one is at church.

We spent the day at the Murphy's for our Christmas together. I love how we are able to spread our Christmas over several days. That gives us true quality time with each one instead of rushing off to another house all in one day.

So I may be trying to relive some unlived Christmas memories here, but we made gingerbread houses from scratch this year. I wanted to do something special at the Murphy's for Christmas. Something that we only do with them. Something the kids would be excited to do. So this year we tried the gingerbread house.

Let me tell you this is a three day process. Friday night I set a plan and cut out my house shapes. Saturday morning before Glendon's I made my dough and put in fridge. It needed to set for at least 6 hours. Saturday night after the Nativity I rolled out the dough and cut the house parts out. This is a very doable project but there are so many steps. I read this trick is to roll around the squares with a pizza cutter. It worked perfectly.

I baked them and laid them out to cool over night. Sunday we packed up our parts and took all the gear with us to the Murphy's.

So I 'm whipping up the icing and reading more of the directions. It says you need to build the base of the house and let set 2 hours! We needed to start this earlier!

we let them set 1 hour and being as I made two small houses instead of the one large house, I think we were good on time.

Every step I called the kids in to help. Their attention did not get spiked till the decoration.

Corbin and I worked on one house together.

I think Carolyn and I had more fun that the kids putting it all together.

Grandma and Addie worked on the other house. Clearly there was some eating of the decorations.

I don't know why we had never done these as a kid, but I bet time was a factor. This is a three day process. I really liked doing them. Carolyn said she had never done one either. I don't know if they sold the kits for gingerbread houses when I was a kid, but thought I would try the old fashion way this year. The few families that I talked to said the kit parts are often broken. I was happy with our end result! I think we will do this again.

Other things that we did during the day.

The kids played board games
Corbin and Keith played shoots and ladders

Addie and Matt played Candy Land. Apparently Addie liked the "special" cards and had hid them all.

Aiden was happily walking around everywhere seeing what he could get into.

We all had such a good day.

Carolyn had planned the perfect unorthodox Christmas meal. We had pizza and salad for lunch and then Root beer Floats for dessert! How perfect is that?! With the turkey and ham we had been having the pizza really hit the spot. And of course the kids loved it!

Aiden tried to get everyone to let him have a sip

Then it was present time...

Addie was all prepared for her turn...

Corbin had gotten one and then another. With each package place before him he was in stunned excitement.

So pleased ...

Addie primly opened each little piece saying Awww at each turn.

Corbin ripped into his and helped Aiden shortly after

Of course they had to test the trucks out that Corbin had gotten. As you can see there was no Christmas weather yet. The snow came the day after Christmas.