a beautiful mess.

Dear Wilton,
The reason for my correspondence today is to thank the product engineer (aka. GENIOUS) who thought of making a gingerbread house for every season/holiday and making them so readily available and easy to purchase. BRILLIANT idea! Definitely deserving of a raise!

You see, it's always been my family's tradition to make a Gingerbread house sometime in the weeks leading up to Christmas--a tradition we've held for nearly 7 years now. Family gathered round the table to laugh and play and create {food} art. It's a beautiful thing.

Oh......say about 3 years ago, we caught onto the fact that you could buy a gingerbread house for Valentine's Day, Easter, and Halloween! That really makes this mother of two, VERY happy. (Shhhh. Don't tell my kids, but what excites me more than decorating the house is that fact that I have a means to empty all the excess candy that comes from those holidays to a place other than their tummy. Smart, eh?) The real joy comes from watching my girls decorate and plan and use their imagination and work TOGETHER. Something about a gingerbread house, icing and a plate full of sugar......and they instantly forget their squabbles and focus, together, on one project to get their desired outcome.

So, thank you, Wilton for your part in building my family's memories, one gingerbread house at a time.

Sincerely,
Tania Willis
Domestic Engineer
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so, yeah. my answer for ridding the candy basket and starting the detox from sugar overload---make a gingerbread house. if you have an abundance of candy after every holiday, my suggestion is to hit the aisles at Target, Walmart, JoAnn's or Michaels and find a gingerbread house. after the holiday they immediately go to clearance.........got mine for $1.50. actually, i bought TWO. one we used and one to be stored away until Christmas. they are usually pre-constructed and even come with icing, decorating bags with tips, and a small amount of candy.

what i love most about gingerbread house making--they actually get along.......for about an hour. working together, singing as they decorate...."what's gonna work---teeeeeeeeeam work. what's gonna work---teeeeeeeeeam work." i often will buy the gingerbread house (always on clearance) and tuck it away for a day that they are bickering back and forth. decorating a house together puts that to rest real quick.


even if you don't have an abundance of candy, it's amazing what you can do with a few things from your pantry when you add them to the mix of the candy from the kit. things like cheerios, pretzels, chex mix, mini marshmellows, goldfish crackers, sprinkles (those are always on clearance too after the holiday). emma is a BIG fan of the sprinkles. LOL.


ashlyn, loves to see just how creative she can get with the pieces that she has. "look mommy. i made a bunny!" she says bursting with excitement. "and the candy bar is a door. look! open. closed. open. closed."


i suppose it's worth mentioning, that this is one of THE best sensory projects we do for ashlyn. with all the textures, and smell of the icing (she has a major aversion to smells---hypersensitive), the mixing of the candies on the plate (she really hates for non-like things to touch on a plate), getting sticky stuff on her hands.........just all of it together helps her learn to adapt and go with the flow a bit better.


did i mention emma like sprinkles? i guess she felt that it needed even more than the massive dump before.


and the finished masterpiece is always a beautiful mess!