Throw A Great Gingerbread House Party for Kids!

Six girls built amazing gingerbread houses.

They poked, squeezed, sprinkled, knocked, bumped, prodded, and pressed dull brown gingerbread with gummi bears, gummi fish, red and black licorice, m&m's, gumdrops, red hots, peppermints, and sparkly white sugar. The finished houses were pieces of (modern) art suited for a museum. At the end of the party, all six structures were still standing. After the rides home in trunks and on car seats, the houses were still standing. And I know from years of experience, that 6 mighty gingerbread structures will remain intact until bludgeoned with a hammer- under parental supervision of course.

Yes, the parental units enjoyed the party too.

Parents relaxed while chatting and enjoying happy girls and holiday cheer. No panicky quick fixes with toothpicks and superglue. No makeshift invisible wall props and roof supports. No teary eyed, frustrated artists mourning collapsed houses surrounded by broken pieces of candy debris.

The secret to a Great Gingerbread House Party?

Simple. The Trader Joe's Gingerbread House Kit. The box says it replicates an authentic German witches' house- at least that's what I think "Hexen" means. In layman's terms, this is one sturdy A frame gingerbread house that won't fall down, no matter how many kids huff and puff.

TJ's kit has two triangles for the front and back, and two rectangles for the sides/roof. Simple. Sturdy. Cute. The little figurines and tree can be decorated and propped up anywhere. My girls loved making up stories about the little people and the magic candies as they built.

This kit comes with frosting mix and frosting bag, but we bought frosting in cans too. To help with stability, we built all six houses the night before so the frosting could get nice and hard. An hour before the party, we put the remaining frosting in the fridge so that it got a bit harder and even more glue like in consistency. Voila! When the girls applied the pretty candies at the party, they stayed in place. Sure, the kit came with some candies, but I just LOVE going to the bulk candy section of our grocery store and picking out my favorites. I don't take my girls, because I want to pick them out all by myself. How many times do I get to pick out bags and bags of pretty candy at a store? Exactly once a year- to prepare for our Gingerbread House Party.

Photo