You can always know December has arrived by the smattering of twinkle lights, the beginning of holiday songs on the radio, and the scents of delicious tasties wafting through the air…especially gingerbread!  Mmmmmm…

We experienced this at our house just this last Monday evening as my daughter, Megan, baked her first gingerbread to create her own holiday house for her school event the following day at the ice rink.  🙂  She decided that she wanted to craft her house all out of gingerbread bricks!  I let her have at it, and only provided guidance where needed, as she dove right in and got sticky up to her eyeballs, lol.  She really had a great time, and figured out some neat tricks to support her structure securely…except on the front porch, where the bricks just wouldn’t stay put, or the frosting wouldn’t harden quite quick enough, lol!

All in all, it was a huge success…we all oooh’ed and aaah’ed at the finished result.  Of course, when kids are left to their own devices, they tend to put little quirky tid-bits and inside jokes into their work.  I kept suggesting she put a face on her snowman, but she insisted that it stay just snow, like an abominable, no-face snowman… and the little chocolate chips on the roof?  These are the remaining evidence that Santa’s reindeer have visited recently!  These little idiosyncrasies are what make true art, art, right?  😉

Well… we got to the event at the ice rink, signed up for the gingerbread house category, and then the girls went about the happy business of finding their “ice” legs for the afternoon while I sat cozily in the warm party room and tended to my loom knitting!

When it was time for the announcements of the winners, it turned out that Megan’s house won the top honors by a huge landslide!  😀  She actually gets to compete with the entire Washington State K12 Gingerbread Winterland competition… WooHoo, Megan!!!  We’re so proud of her, because she did it all on her own.  She earned every bit of the honor.

Great job, Girlie!!!