Monday, December 10, 2007

The Guilt Over Gingerbread

Just after college graduation I took one of the only jobs that I could get in my field. I taught nursery school. I was twenty-two years old, naturally skinny and very naive.

I can still remember a mom who came to pick-up and started chatting about their weekend. She said that she bought a gingerbread house kit to make with the kids. I joked that she was "cheating" since the gingerbread was prebaked and everything was included.

Karma has come back to kick me in the butt.

Hubby was away all weekend and I really needed to come-up with a few exciting activities to pass the time with the kids. After the birthday party at the movies, lunch at a restaurant and a swim at the YMCA I decided to pull out the gingerbread house kit that I recently purchased.

The kids sat at the island as I began to unpack the box. The word "deluxe" caught my eye.

"Cut the gingerbread to the size and shape desired."
"using an electric mixer..."
"Use cut Styrofoam to keep the base steady"
"Let base dry for four hours"
"Let the roof dry for four hours"
"Cover frosting with damp towel"

Seriously!?!

This is a "kit!" It should practically put itself together for me. The kids and I just want to cover the house with frosting and candy and then eat it.

It was not a pretty scene.



6 comments:

Rebecca said...

I folowed you blog over from mdc and I had to laugh because we did gingerbread houses over the weekend too. I got a kit from Magic Cabin and it took me 6 hours to make 3 gingerbread houses for my nieces and daughter to decorate the next day. This was just the baking and assembling and it involved a lot of profanity and icing too. :)

Gruppie Girl said...

Rebecca~

Nice to hear from another Mothering Mummy!

You have a ton of drive. I gave up after 30 minutes of working on my gingerbread house/pile of crumbs.

Akkire said...

ohh, gingerbread houses be damned! they never seem to work out as easily as any kit or person makes them appear. last year i attempted graham cracker and cake frosting ones, NO GO. This year, my boyfriend found a kit in the Trader Joe's lot and it comes with already made, THICK gingerbread. I think this is our year to succeed. Wish me luck!

And ps. though the finished gingerbread house is such a cute little sight, the process is part of the fun....right? :)

Gruppie Girl said...

Best of luck!

Enjoy the process and let's hope your product doesn't look like mine. ;)

Ruth Dynamite said...

The Dynamite children will be building theirs today, and then it will sit and collect dust for the next couple weeks. Even so, mysteriously, dust-covered candy will somehow "fall off" the house and into their mouths. Hmmm...

Pickel said...

We made our first house/train this year from scratch. But, I have to say that my husband is the particular one who does it wall.

P.S. thanks for the comment. I am sure he does not notice it...just me. It just makes me so mad sometimes.

http://www.discussingautism.com/friday-freebies-sock-monkeys-gingerbread-gfcf-candy/