I Love Candy.

Gingerbread houses are the best.  So much fun to decorate.  A wonderful family activity.  Mom put this activity together for us.

Here's the setup before everyone got started.

We went for the graham cracker houses this year.  Sweet and simple.  And we glued them together with hot glue guns.  When I say we, I mean mom.  And Kace.  But no messy sugar syrup nonsense.  And if you've ever done true gingerbread, you know it's not an easy task.  This worked out great.

Here's everybody getting into it.  Notice that toward the middle of the table there is a lot more eating than decorating going on.

Not much decorating going on with this little munchkin at all.  About half an hour into the project she'd had a little bit too much candy and would randomly squeak out in a very fast, high pitched voice (think Alvin and the Chipmunks) "I Love Candy." 

Now this was supposed to be a kid's only activity.  But there were some extra houses and I think it was Keighley that grabbed one and said "Mine's going to be the best."  To which the other three older sisters each grabbed a house and said "Not if I can help it."  And the competition was on. 

Thereafter, the house decorating got a little more intense.

That is a face that does not have time for a photo op.

The finished products.

The highlight of Kace's house were the gumdrop people in the front yard.

Bella apparently loves snowmen.

Dork.  The highlight of Keighley's was that it was the color theme of red and white.  But it was overshadowed by a somewhat offensive light post.

That is not the munchkin's house.  That would be some extreme gingerbread house decorating talent in a two year old.

My house and the girly girls' houses.  I went for the rainbow theme and I had to have a Christmas Tree.

Group photos.  I think there was some sabotage going on.

I love Kace's face in this one.  She looks so hurt.  I don't love her hurt face, I just think it's funny when it's over the destruction of a gumdrop person.  And for the record I am not giving myself the thumbs up sign.  I know this is what it looks like and I can't explain what I was doing, but it was not that.

I love love this picture.  I think it conveys the loving chaos that is our family get togethers. This was right after we had finished trying to force kisses upon each other under the mistletoe, which was more like a wrestling match.

So let the Christmas Spirit continue to be spread.  And this holiday activity comes highly recommended by me.