Home for the Holidays

Ever since I was a child, gingerbread houses have been part of Christmas. However, with so many children they were rarely ever constructed of real gingerbread, but graham crackers instead. Still fun, and not nearly so devastating in the event of breakage. I have carried this tradition on with my own family, and what a fun workshop day it is! I love how everyone's house reflects a piece of his/her individual personality.

Adam's house began with lofty intentions that he didn't even begin to think through. He's the artist in the family, a master of creativity, but not one of pragmatism or efficiency. So, he began sawing his graham crackers into individual boards and started laying floor beams, trusses, and "framing" his two-story house. That lasted almost two hours, and when he still didn't have a single wall up (and the kids were hogging all the graham crackers), he went for the more traditional slap it up method, common in suburban neighborhoods. But he was the only one with a porch.

My house, had to be beautiful, balanced aesthetically, landscaped, and had to have storage out back.

Lyndsay's house had to be accessorized, so she built an open loft, with graham cracker furniture, a snowman in the front yard, and a mailbox.

Dylan, went for clean lines and exactness, as he is ever-watchful of justice and fairness in life.

Caitlin went for free-thinking and fashionable, with an open door. She's always welcoming.

Sean is not exactly a detail-oriented or tidy builder, but he gets his house up faster than anyone else, which leaves lots of time for eating the candy strewn along the table.

And, Aiden, having spent most of his life in Arizona, went with an adobe style house, neatly paved and cheerful.

In the end, I have a feeling the boys didn't care as much how their houses looked, as long as they held as much candy as the laws of graham cracker and royal icing physics allow. And their mom. ("Put half of that back, my friend.")