Ahh...Christmas is just around the corner! This blog is focused on a tradition in our home, and will hopefully inspire (and guide) others to have their own gingerbread parties.
This is how it works. Someone, first, has to take on the challenge and the work involved in baking/buying/acquiring the house parts and then assembling them. This can be done as a group effort amongst friends, but someone needs to take lead and be sure that things are getting done.
You need to decide where the party will be-- room for several tables for decorating houses is a plus. And you will have to choose a date. Plan a menu before you do the invitations if you are going to ask attendees to bring something along. It is a simple step to just include that on the invitation.
Start buying your supplies now. Look for molasses on sale, and spices--cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and cream of tartar.
House parts can be made out of Graham Crackers--but I have found them to be difficult to work with. It is hard to break a graham cracker along an even edge. And this is another tip--watch for Halloween Haunted House Kits to go on clearance sale November 1st. This can save work if you are of the mind to buy the house parts. They are usually chocolate flavored and taste horrible. But...most people don't eat them anyhow. Birds will eat them if you set them outside near a feeder. I will share my gingerbread recipe in a later post. And it is good, and there are regulars who come and decorate a house--them take it home and eat it. And there are regulars who would never think of eating their masterpieces. Instead they take them home and varnish them--that works too as long as you store them in a mouse-proof place.
Also, the BEST tip I can give you...DO shop November 1st for half-off clearance Halloween candy. A rough estimate of how much you will need is about a 12 ounce bag of candy per house. Keep in mind that each house will have several kinds of candy on it--so the 12 ounces is more a total combined figure. Some people will be use less, and some will use MUCH more. Stories will follow of decorating fun.
This is hard because I want to tell you everything at once. Just know that this is a great get-together, one from which memories are made.
The houses we decorate are small, and quite humble. Not done by professionals, the goal is fun, but the outcome is so much more.
Village decorated by 4 people and donated to a charity auction. |