Christmas Advent Calendar, Day 11: Decorate a Gingerbread House

I never decorated a gingerbread house as a kid, but if I had ... I'd like to believe my mom would've done the smart thing and purchased a pre-assembled gingerbread house from Costco. Did they even have Costco back in the 80's? I seriously hope so, because pre-assembled gingerbread houses are the way to go!

I buy one of these kits for Tory and Aden every year. The Costco gingerbread kit comes with everything needed to decorate a gingerbread house -- plenty of frosting in easy-to-squeeze pouches, assorted candies and most importantly, a sturdy house that's already put together. I can't stress the last part enough -- one year, I tried to assemble a gingerbread house myself and it was a disaster.

This likely would have been a "Tory-only" holiday activity, but Aden took an unscheduled morning nap on Day 11 of our Christmas advent calendar, so he got to partake in our gingerbread house decorating. Understandably so, Tory was apprehensive about Aden's participation in the project. Girlfriend takes her crafting seriously! And, let's be honest, Aden is a bit of a wild man these days. I assured Tory I'd keep him on a tight leash and all would be fine.

Aden wanted to sit on top of the table to decorate, of course, which is where I find him most during the days. All he wants to do is climb, climb, climb these days ... but that's for another post. Decorating was going fine - great, actually! - until Aden knocked the gingerbread house onto the floor with his body. Tory nearly lost her mind, the poor girl. Luckily, the gingerbread house didn't break and I helped Tory fix the few pieces of candy that had fallen off.

Decorating a gingerbread house turned out to be a fun activity for both kids, and kept them entertained for over an hour. Next year, I think I'll buy two houses so they can each decorate their own masterpiece. I know Aden will want to eat all of his candy anyway!