Gingerbread House Day

The long-awaited Gingerbread House Day finally arrived! Every year I anticipate this starting of the Christmas season--I dream about it--I think about it EVERY time I look at candy...."Hmmm, how could I use that on my gingerbread house....?"

I and my sister and my girlfriend from high School get together on the day after Thanksgiving-- it's been over 20 years now. We save this day just for each other and gingerbread. I bake the gingerbread pieces-a set for each of us (it took me two days this year). My sister makes the frosting (tons of it), and my girlfriend brings the bulk of the candy--although we all buy candy...we can't help it.

Each year I make a new pattern. (The first photo, above, is my house from several years ago.) I try something different each year--I love to design. This year I imagined a mountain scene (and actually baked gingerbread bases/mountains to put our houses on):


In the back I wanted a stream filled with fish, and bears fishing. I had at first put little gummy black bears looking at the fish... but they just looked.... boring and, a little monotonous. So, last night I made some funny, wrinkly brown bears to go fishing:


As you can see, their tummies are a different color because that part of the frosting is still wet. (I made the body parts last night, but 'glued' them together and put them on the house this morning.)


If you look closely, you can see I also made two raccoons, who are keeping their distance from the bears, one is sitting on the veranda, the other on the mountain between the houses.

I always try to fit the family into the windows of the house. I'm guessing everyone will stay inside, because those bears did turn out rather large. (My daughter says the fish are goners for sure.)

Now, go visit my sister's blog. You'll find better --and more-- photos, and you'll see how clever she is at gingerbread housing. She's famous for sledding penguins and chickens--she's much more fun and zany than I am. (Read the first entry, then her embellishments on the next entry.)