Gingerbread party

My mom loves starting traditions and one of the greatest things about her is that once she starts one, they really do become part of what makes our lives and holidays so special. One year, she wanted to have a gingerbread house decorating party for my sister (I want to say 15 or so years ago) and that one party became a tradition that we have done every year since. It is part of Christmas for us now. My mom passed the torch to me three years ago and it has been so much fun to share with my family and friends. This weeks ROTW was gingerbread houses so I thought I would post some of the pictures. The catch, if you will, is that each person invited to the party only has to bring two bags of candy to share with the rest of the guests. So each house will have the same candy on it but it is amazing how different each one turns out.

I buy my houses pre-made from a bakery in my home town as assembling them is time consuming, especially when you have to allow for dry time. If you want start a new tradition that I promise your children will cherish for years to come, give these little houses a try.

Royal Icing Recipe

3 egg whites

1lb powdered sugar

1/8 tsp cream of tarter

Mix all ingredients until thick with electric mixer, about 2-4 minutes.

Something to think about to make decorating easier. Put your icing or "glue" in a squeeze bottle like one you would use for home hair dying or they sell empty plastic squeeze bottles at most party stores, they are inexpensive and they make decorating a breeze. I think they work much better than the pastry bags.