There's no tradition like a new tradition!

Here are just a couple more pictures from the Christmas season. (We're still celebrating -- in fact we just took the tree down on Saturday but only b/c there were more needles on the carpet than the tree -- but these are the last of the documentation.)

On New Year's Eve I found myself in the extraordinary position of being all alone the whole evening. All the children were in bed, and Mr. Pickles wasn't feeling well so he went to bed early too. I decided to take the opportunity to try out a new tradition, an idea I got from Notes from the Trenches: making a gingerbread house to be eaten on New Year's Day. Ideally it should have been started on the 30th, to be decorated on the 31st, but that didn't happen. Miriam and I made the dough earlier in the day, but it wasn't until the evening that I finally had the opportunity to bake it. I used the recipe and pattern from the latest edition of Joy of Cooking, which left lots of leftover dough for gingerbread men. (I think I'm all set in the gingerbread consumption department for at least another 11 months.)

I cut out patterns out of posterboard (something I always have on hand for school), and then while everyone was sleeping I rolled, cut out, and baked the various shapes. Needless to say the house smelled absolutely fabulous for the rest of the night! (Hmm, maybe my gingerbread consumption needs haven't been completely fulfilled....) I left them out overnight to cool and harden, and then assembled everything the next day.

I used royal icing for adhesive, which is just powdered sugar and beaten egg whites. When it dries it's nigh indestructible. There's just that whole "when it dries" part that took a lot longer than I was expecting -- "dry enough" led to a structural collapse. Fortunately I had enough icing to glue it together twice.

FINALLY it all adhered and we were ready to decorate!

It was simple this year: just candy canes and gum drops. I think next year I'll alter the pattern -- the roof was really, really heavy, which added to the problem of keeping the whole thing together. I really had to slather on the icing and brace the walls with soup cans while it dried.

"One for the house, one for me, one for the house, two for me, three for me, one for the house..."

Finished! And with a light dusting of powdered snow. :)

the rear view

Hansel and Gretel's witch has got nothing on this house!

I think Katie ate most of the snow and gumdrops herself.

This was a lot of fun to do, and a delicious way to finish off the Octave of Christmas. We're definitely doing it again next year! I've already got ideas for the next house's construction and decoration....