Gingerbread houses, take II

This year we went for a slightly easier version of  gingerbread houses - milk cartons with gingerbread stuck to the side. What a difference two years makes. This time around, the girls pretty much did their own assembly and decorating, with minimal help from parents. Although I did not notice any decrease in candy consumption... in fact, there was a distinct amount of running around, grabbing a handful of candy, and off again. We did go through nearly all of the candy, surprisingly. Fortunately, a lot of it went home with other people, either in bellies or on houses.

And, in the time-honored tradition, there was the usual dress-up. Isabella is wearing a combination she made up herself. Her ballet leotard under a kimono-style dress (gift from her cousin). The dress is too big, so she put the leotard on underneath.

Ian probably ate half the candy himself... hard to keep little fingers out of the bowls. Although he did ask. We tried to assemble a house for him, but he lost interest when it kept falling apart. Hard to build something that will withstand little fingers.

In a fit of Christmas cheer and nostalgia, I bought the complete collection of old Christmas TV specials - Rudolph, Frosty, Charlie Brown, etc. You can see every hair on the Rudolph puppets on the big TV.

Towards the end of the party the sugar coma hit, and all the girls went downstairs to watch the Grinch and other Christmas and Disney specials - not quite sure what they ended up with. This was post the trampoline, fling yourself at the green pillows, slide down the back-side frenzy. Hey, at least they were quiet!

Thanks again to Jen for helping with the cookie, house, and gingerbread construction, and bringing yummy soup to balance out the sugar. We had quite an afternoon with the kids (even Ian!) rolling out dough and cutting out cookies. The poor piggy cookie cutter may never be the same - Ian applied it to the dough with rather more squishing force than strictly necessary. Time for some new, sturdier cutters!