GINGERBREAD HOUSE 2011

Every year I make a Gingerbread House. This year's
Gingerbread house was different in a couple ways. I made
the dough in November with plans to make the house the
beginning of December. I got sick with bronchitis
at the very beginning of December so the house did not
get built when I planned. I was able to bake the house the
2nd week of December, but then because I had been sick
and was very behind on EVERYTHING, I didn't get the
house decorated until AFTER Christmas. I think that in
itself was a first!! The most special thing about this house
is the candy. When we lived in New York, a local grocery
store had TONS of bulk candy. I always wish for that
selection at Christmas time. David was working in
Meadville one day and stopped at a grocery store there
and they had TONS of bulk candy. So he surprised me
with a NICE variety of candy to decorate my house.
My neighbor told me I would have won a contest!!! :)

Pictures of Gingerbread house~ village assembly

VILLAGE 2008

Gingerbread Village 2008

I had FULL intentions of making a log cabin gingerbread house this year. I am too humiliated to go into all the details, but... it didn't work. I think there were too many stress fractures - but it might have been partially the dogs fault ... I don't know. But I had everything baked, put together and was so proud of my end results. When Bear came home from work, I eagerly told him to go check out my cabin that was drying in the back room. He had to be the bearer of bad news that it had collapsed. That all in the midst of a mysterious pain in my left foot that left me laid up for almost 2 weeks and unable to do much of anything let alone another log cabin. So, I resorted to a graham cracker gingerbread village that took just a few short hours to complete on Christmas Day. It is no doubt the "plainest" set up I have ever done, but I had lost a little heart with my high anticipation of the other. So, such as it is, I feel Christmas is complete now that I have my gingerbread house complete. My first house is Sugar Frosted Shredded Wheat, #2 is Wheat Thins, #3 is Smarties & #4 is Necco. The Village Square has a pretty blue fountain of blue sugar ~ and no it is not frozen over - it is 60 degrees here!! :)Well, until next year, I will put my gingerbread ideas on the back burner and wish myself "better luck next time"!

Gingerbread "Gas Card"

Would you believe the gift card I found @ Wal-Mart?! Of course, it is now my "gas card".

Barb's Gingerbread house from 2002

I love gingerbread! Gingerbread houses, gingerbread men, gingerbread ladies, gingerbread fragrances. Get the picture? I love the warm cinnamon scent wafting through the air as the gingerbread bakes. I love the deep brown color of the gingerbread. There is something so nostalgic for me in the combination of everything. I can't wait for that time of year to roll around again - and usually I don't wait! I get out my idea books and look at pictures from years gone by of creations that I have done. I designate a special notebook just for "gingerbread ideas". I go to the library scrounging around for just one more book to look through to see what other ideas I can come up with.

One year I took a gingerbread house class at a community collage. We made a big European style house that was a great delight to make. Many years I have made "mock" gingerbread houses with 1/2 pint milk cartons covered with Graham crackers. One year I even made a village out of those little cartons. How darling that was!

This year I am gearing up to make my first ever gingerbread house log cabin. I am so excited. This idea came from a library book Cookies for Christmas by Jennifer Dorland Darling.