5 Tips for Hosting a Gingerbread House Decorating Party

Decorating a gingerbread house.  I think most people have this activity on their "Christmas bucket list" of fun things to do with their kids.  While the whole process can easily turn chaotic and messy, I have a few tips on how to make it a fun and enjoyable experience!  

5 Tips for Hosting a Gingerbread House Decorating Party

1.  Buy the pre-built gingerbread house kits!

I grew up where you had no choice, you had to build your own gingerbread house.  And what I remember is that it was constantly collapsing.  So instead of spending our time being creative and decorating the thing, we were focused on rebuilding it time after time. I honestly think I'd skip the whole gingerbread house tradition if we had to build it from scratch.  So imagine my surprise and excitement when I saw that they now sell pre-built kits.  Last year was our first time doing it and we got ours from Costco.  For under $10, I didn't have super high expectation, but was extremely impressed with what's included and the quality.  The houses are well made and very sturdy.  I love that in addition to the icing and candy decorations, that they come with a door, a chimney, and some little gingerbread men.  And for those that need some decorating inspiration, they provide multiple examples right on the box.  Trust me, save the aggravation and your sanity, and just buy the kit!   

2.  Set up is key

While the kit really does give you a lot, there are still a few extra supplies that will make your decorating even more successful.  

First up, I knew that we were bound to get messy when kids and icing are involved.  So I picked up this wipeable tablecloth at Target.  I loved that it's sturdier than a regular throwaway plastic tablecloth but also easily wiped clean.  I also appreciated that it's more winter themed so I can use it other times than just Christmas.  

I also made sure to save a few pieces of cardboard from my many Amazon deliveries.  While cake stands are super pretty, covering a piece of cardboard with aluminum foil works better on so many levels.  First off, I don't have to worry about a young child breaking one of my cake stands.  But on top of that, chances are most of the kids don't live at your house, and it's easier for them to take it home when it's all done.

Last year, I wasn't expecting the candy included to be good, and ended up buying a ton of extra candy.  I quickly learned that the candy in the kit is really good.  This year, I stuck with their candy and instead just picked up some little condiment to go containers to neatly organize each kid's candy. While not at all necessary, Noah did decide he wanted to add a few extra decorations like mini marshmallow, pretzels, Fruit Loops, and white chocolate chips... all things I had on hand in my pantry.

While the candy is great, we weren't huge fans of the icing.  They come in bags with some piping attachments.  While in theory this sounds great, last year the kids had a hard time squeezing hard enough to get it out.  So instead, I picked up a container of vanilla icing for each of the kids and gave them a plastic knife and spoon.  I find that it's best to give each child their own personal supplies to minimize fighting.

3.  Keep your guest list small

This is a good rule of thumb whenever kids are involved, but especially when doing an activity that can easily get messy.  For our "party", it was just Noah some of our family friends.  While Noah and his friend were able to decorate their houses with very minimal help from us, our 2 1/2 year old friend needed more help from her mom.  It's a good idea that you have enough adults to assist when necessary.  

And while not a "tip" or even necessary, we thought it would be fun for the kids to come dressed in their pajamas.  The kids were comfortable and they looked extra festive for all the photos I took.  

4.  Let the kids be creative and have fun

This probably won't apply to everyone, but for my type A personality readers, this might be difficult for you.  Our kids are at the age where they might need some help executing things, but they really have no desire in you telling them how to do something.  They have strong opinions on how they want their house decorated and it usually doesn't look anything like the pretty house you've seen on Pinterest or even the side of the box! Try your best to leave your OCD tendencies at the door and stay calm.  Remember that you are doing this so your kids have fun and have a fond memory.  So let them decorate the house however they want, even if it does look a little wacky!  Chances are they will lose interest before it's fully decorated and you can jump in and finish it.  And if that doesn't happen, maybe buy yourself an extra kit that you can decorate exactly how you want to.  Gingerbread houses don't have to be just for the kids.  They really are fun and can be quite therapeutic to decorate.  And now that I think of it, this would also be a fun party to host with your girlfriends!

5.  Don't forget about transporting

While Noah's gingerbread house was staying here, our two guests needed to bring theirs home.  And the last thing you want is for the house to tip over in your trunk and get icing all over your car!   Thankfully I had saved the boxes that the kits came in.  We simply unglued one of the side seams, slid the decorated house back in the box, and then taped the side back up.  

Is decorating a gingerbread house one of your Christmas traditions?

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The Evolving Play Date

Ever since Noah was about 6 months old, we've been scheduling regular play dates.  It all started when I joined the MOMS Club.  Play dates with 6 month olds are really kind of cool and definitely more for the moms.  The babies would sit on the carpet and happily play with a  toy, or at most they would crawl a few feet over to grab something new.  All the while, the moms would chat and get some much needed adult interaction.  As the kids grew more mobile and opinionated, play dates became harder.  I remember going to a park to meet up with friends, and sometimes you wouldn't even get to talk to the other moms because your kid had no desire to go where all the other kids were.  Noah never seemed interested in the swings when I wanted him to!  So instead, you ended up following around your new walker making sure they didn't fall off the play structure.  Then there was the stage where your kid would happily play next to the other kids, not with, but next to.  But since they were still so young and their speech so limited, you had to make sure you were always close by in case a sharing, hair pulling, or biting incident needed to be handled.   But it seems that we have finally turned a corner when it comes to play dates.  Now that Noah goes to school, he and his friends are happy to go off and play with each other, often without any assistance from the moms.  They can now communicate well and are able to come to us if a disagreement occurs.  As a result, I am finally able to sit back and chat with my mom friends again!  

With this new found independence, I've begun to tweak how I entertain when hosting these playdates.  It used to be that you just worried about the kids.  I made sure to always have kid snacks on hand and maybe some waters for the moms.  Who had time to eat when you were making sure your 2 year old didn't destroy someone else's house or break a toy.  But now that we get some downtime to actually sit and chat, I've started putting out a little spread for the adults to enjoy.  

While I would love to say that we sit and talk over a glass of wine, most of our play dates are still in the middle of the afternoon.  So instead, I opt to put out some muffins and tea.  It's the perfect balance of showing you cared by taking the time and effort to prepare for your guests but also being super easy.  Chocolate chip muffins that I made from a mix in under a half an hour, a variety of tea bags and some hot water and you are all set!  And with the colder months heading our way, this is the perfect way to beat that afternoon slump.  The kids enjoy playing with each other and you get some downtime before having to prepare dinner!  

And before I know it, I will be dropping Noah off for play dates and not even sticking around!  In fact, we've already hosted a drop off play date with one of our best friends... and it was really successful!  It's crazy how fast they grow up!  

So tell me, what stage are you at with play dates?

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Welcome Back Buddy!

It's that time of year again.  When elves start showing up in houses near and far.  Some elves give parents the hope that their kids will be on their best behavior, while others main objective is to entertain with the most creative mischief each night.  This is our second Christmas doing the whole "elf on the shelf" thing and I think I may be even more excited than Noah is.  Last year, we introduced Noah to the whole concept and helped Noah name him "Buddy".  As I explained last year, we don't follow all the "elf rules".  For example, our elf doesn't lose his magic if touched, and we don't mind if Noah touches Buddy.  Noah is very gentle with him and quickly loses interest in playing with him if we let him touch Buddy when he finds him versus making a big deal about it.  We also don't really use the elf as punishment for bad behavior.  While we do like to remind Noah that he should be nice and listen to us because Buddy is watching and reporting back to Santa, our elf won't not come back or move one night because of bad behavior.  Instead, we prefer to use Buddy as another fun way to countdown to Christmas.   Buddy not only moves places each night, but he also has lots of fun while we are asleep. Chris has so much fun coming up with new and unique set ups each day.  We just try to make sure that Buddy doesn't cause trouble or encourage mischievous behavior.  Everything Buddy does is very harmless and a lot of fun. 

To kick off the Christmas season, Buddy the Elf showed up yesterday morning with a little gift.  In a world where kids don't have opinions, I had planned that Noah would spot Buddy, we would make the pancakes together, and then Noah would open his gift as we were eating breakfast.  But once Noah saw that gift, he had no interest in helping until he unwrapped it.  Since it was a minor change in plans, we let him open his present and then continued on with our plans.  

Trolls puzzles | elf on the shelf

This year we kept it pretty simple with some pancakes and simple toppings (strawberries, marshmallows, and m&ms).  I wanted to make Christmas tree pancakes using these pancake molds, but they were a disaster!  So instead, I stuck to what I know best, and made regular old pancakes, but made them a festive red and green.  One thing I've learned since becoming a mom, it's best to just go with the flow!  

snowflake bowls | snowflake napkin holder | plaid tablecloth

Noah's plate | milk bottle came in this set | pajamas

While I take the lead when we decorate and entertain, Chris was very eager to take control with the ins and outs of Buddy.  So I planned the breakfast, but will leave the rest of it to him.  The elf shenanigans will begin this morning and I'm really excited to watch Noah find Buddy each morning.  Last year I documented all of Buddy's innocent mischief and shared it here and on Instagram.  I plan to do the same this year, and I'd love for you to follow along with my weekly recaps and on Instagram with the hashtag #buddytheelfshenanigans2016 

Does the elf on the shelf come to your house???  Is he mischievous, playful, or just a spy for Santa?

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Some Super Celebrations for a Super 4 Year Old!

This past weekend was all about our little boy turning 4!  While Noah's actual birthday was last Wednesday, and we had a breakfast celebration complete with gifts the weekend before, there was still more celebrating that needed to be done!  

On Saturday, we had a party for Noah with all of his friends at a bounce house place.  This place specializes in making sure kids have fun... they had 25 parties on Saturday and another 20 scheduled for Sunday!  We've gone to a few parties there before as well as many open gyms.  Noah absolutely loves it there and he was so excited to have his party there!  Chris was equally as excited and was right in there with all the kids the whole time.  Chris isn't the dad to just watch and observe, he's right in there playing with the kids.  Letting them tackle and wrestle with him to the point that I had to be "the mom" and come in every once in a while and say he needed a rest.  At one point they all followed him out of the bounce house as he was going to take his break!  

After bouncing for well over an hour, the kids were all sweaty and ready for some pizza.  We had a superhero theme with an Avengers table, balloons, and cupcakes.  We even had our friend make Noah a Captain America and Hulk birthday shirt and told our guests to wear their superhero shirts if they had them :)  It was a nice mix of Noah's school friends, friends we've known since Noah was a baby, and even some of my friends that I've known since middle school that also have kids!  With 18 kids, it was chaotic at times, but everyone seemed to have a really great time... especially Noah!

 ^^^ friends since Middle School!

 cupcake tower and candles from Party City

cupcake toppers from Etsy

On Sunday, we had our families come over for a birthday dinner.  My parents came, as well as Chris' parents, brother, and Gram.   It's become a tradition that we take some photos with the birthday boy (who needed to be bribed with Starbursts this year), open presents, and then watch the super long (I'm talking 30 minutes) video I make before we eat dinner.  Noah said his favorite gift was the Batmobile that his Uncle Justin gave him, which he proceeded to play with throughout the entire video.  

 ^^^ Grandma & Papa (my parents)

 ^^^ Chris' family - Granddad, Uncle Justin, Gram, and Nonna

After dinner, we sang to Noah one last time over this fire truck cake.  He originally was going to continue on the superhero theme, but changed his mind last minute while flipping through the book of cakes!  That cake was absolutely delicious, but boy did that blue icing stain!  I was a little nervous he'd have a blue mouth for picture day the next day, but thankfully it came out with lots of face washing and teeth brushing!  

So that's a wrap to the weeklong birthday celebrations!  Now it's time to play with all of Noah's new toys... and find a place to store them!  I think we will need to go through Noah's old toys and do a major purge before Christmas!

Happy Birthday to my goofy 4 year old!!!

How to Host a Pumpkin Painting Party

This is the third year we've painted pumpkins with Noah.  The first year was when he was about to turn 2 and we used washable paint.  While it was great for his age, we couldn't put the pumpkins outside or else they'd be washed clean with the first rain.  Last year, we decided to use acrylic paints and even invited Chris' parents over for a morning of painting.  We had so much fun that we've decided to make this a family tradition and invited Nonna & Granddad over again for a Pumpkin Painting Party.  Each year I learn something new, so I thought it would be helpful for me to share my pumpkin painting wisdom with you...

Setting up...

The setup is so important whether you are having a few people over or a large party.  And it's especially true when hosting a Pumpkin Painting Party.  There are a few things to consider, like where you will do the actual painting and the supplies that you will need.  While I would love to paint pumpkins outside, the weather here can be very unpredictable this time of year.  So instead of worrying about whether it's going to rain or be windy, I plan to paint inside and set up accordingly.  But if you can do it outside, go for it!  Since we were using acrylic paints (otherwise known as non-washable), I made sure to cover my table with a plastic Halloween tablecloth that I found at Target.  Noah is a very neat kid, but if yours are not or are doing this with multiple kids, I would suggest covering your floor as well.   And since this is a Halloween activity, I added my "Trick or Treat" garland to my already Fall decorated buffet table.  

Trick or Treat garland - mine is a few years old, here's the current version

The supplies...

First up, you need to buy your pumpkins.  We usually buy them about a week before our party and keep them in our garage until the day of.  For painting, we find the medium size pumpkins work best. Too small and you don't have much room to get creative, but too large of a pumpkin might overwhelm your guests with all the possibilities.  I suggest getting a few more than you need in case one ends up going bad before your party... I speak from experience!  However, we also get a few large pumpkins so that we can do some carving as well.

When it comes to decorating the pumpkins, you'll want to give your guests lots of options.  I had bought a variety pack of acrylic paints last year, and while they were great, we used up all of the primary colors.  I realized this the day before our party, so I ran out to Michaels and picked up larger bottles of red, orange (which would look nice on white pumpkins), yellow, green, blue, purple, and black paint.  We also ended up using some of the browns from the kit I bought last year.  In addition to acrylic paint, I bought some paint markers.  While we didn't end up using them this year, they are great for writing things on your pumpkins.

I also put out a variety of paint brushes.  At the last minute, I put out some round sponge brushes that I thought would work well with making polka dots.  There were only 3 brushes as they were leftover from a previous art project I did with Noah.  Originally I thought the regular paint brushes would be preferred, but it turns out everyone liked the round sponge brushes better.  So I will definitely be buying a lot more for next year's painting party!  

And so that everyone can have their own paint, I set out these little paint palettes that can hold 6 different colors.  I like how it helps people take just a little bit of paint and limit the amount of waste.  I gave everyone a paper towel and a water dish so they could rinse off their brushes when switching colors.  I then made sure to keep a roll of paper towels nearby... Noah definitely needed more than one paper towel!  

Some painters tape and washi tape work well if you want to do a paint resist type design.  I personally like the look of a taped initial where you paint around it.   Stickers are also fun to use, especially when young kids are involved.  If you are creative, you could even use some tissue paper and mod podge and decoupage your pumpkin... maybe that's what I'll do next year!  If you are hosting a party with all adults, you could even use a hot glue gun to attach ribbon and jewels.   The sky is the limit when you decorate your pumpkins, so make sure you supply your guests with the materials to get creative!  

While not necessary for adults, a smock was a must for Noah.  I have loved these reusable art smocks for a long time, but they are absolutely perfect for these painting parties.  Especially since acrylic paint isn't washable, I didn't want to risk him ruining his clothes.  And it definitely came in handy when Noah reached his arm across his pumpkin and smeared red paint across the arm of his smock.  While it didn't come out of the smock, I'm just glad it wasn't his shirt!  And in case adults do want to protect their clothing, I would recommend suggesting they bring their own apron to the party (like my in-laws did) when you invite them.  

The food!

As with any party, food is very important.  Since we were hosting this Pumpkin Painting Party on a Sunday morning, we opted to serve breakfast food.  We kept it simple by getting some fresh bagels, Halloween donuts, and I made some pumpkin muffins that morning.  And since we were getting a little heavy on the baked goods, we also put out some watermelon.  Serve some coffee and orange juice and you are all set.  

We have found it's best to eat first and paint after.  Noah was growing a little impatient with us and wanted to get right to painting, but this pumpkin donut was a great distraction ;)  And I definitely don't advise eating while painting.  Painting can get a little messy and you definitely don't want to get paint on your bagel!   

Have fun!

If you've prepared for messes and set out all your supplies, you should really be able to sit back and relax.  I'm always amazed how into it everyone gets.  Chris always surprises me with the intricate designs he does, finding a picture on his phone to copy.  Last year he made a Mets pumpkin (since they were in the playoffs) and this year he chose to make a Superman pumpkin (since Noah is really into superheroes).  I'm always impressed with how they turn out!  I usually end up decorating a pretty simple pumpkin (this year I chose polka dots) and then turn my attention to taking photos.  This year however, I decorated two pumpkins.  After taking photos, Chris suggested that Noah make a camo (his favorite) pumpkin.  For some reason, Noah wasn't interested at first.  But I loved the idea, so I decided to do it.  I pulled out a few shades of brown from the paint set we had from last year as well as some green and black paint and just started painting blobs of each color all over the pumpkin.  Noah's interest was peaked and ended up helping me... he loved blending the colors together and it turned out great!  

Noah is really turning out to be quite the artist.  He painted his pumpkins all on his own this year.  He came up with the ideas and executed them himself.  I love his use of color and how he added "feet" and "ears" to his smiley and sad faced pumpkins.  And while I'm used to him being a pro at writing his name on paper, we were all impressed at how well he did with a paintbrush on a pumpkin!  The only thing he could work on is using less paint on his brush... he ended up needing a lot of paper towels!  

This whole pumpkin painting tradition started because I thought Noah was too young to be involved with the carving process.  And while we still love to paint pumpkins, Noah is now old enough and interested in carving a pumpkin as well.  So after we were done painting, Noah, Chris and Nonna got to work on cleaning out our big pumpkin so we could carve it.  Last year we carved an F for our last name, but this year Noah requested a traditional pumpkin face.  I was actually surprised at how Noah got into cleaning out the pumpkin... he usually doesn't like getting messy like that.   Meanwhile, I set the painted pumpkins on some kraft paper to let dry and my father in law helped me clean up all the paint supplies.  

To carve the pumpkin, we use a basic kit that I picked up years ago as well as a sharp kitchen knife.  We used the triangle eyes from the kit as a guide and then let Noah use a permanent marker to trace the triangles onto the pumpkin.  It was actually quite fitting since just last week we started working on Noah drawing his shapes :) 

Originally Noah asked for a traditional Jack-o-Lantern smile, but then Chris suggested a "surprised/scared" mouth and Noah quickly changed his mind.  I think it turned out great, but the best part is how much Noah got into it!  After it was carved, he had fun making faces and posing with the pumpkin.  Then came the game that never ended.  He would place the cut out pieces back into the pumpkin and then stick his hand in the pumpkin and pop them back out.  It was like he was doing a puzzle over and over again :)

Noah's shirt is no longer available on Old Navy's website. 

These are cute options: mummy and dinosaur

After all the pumpkins were painted and carved, we made sure to get a group picture with all of our masterpieces!  I set up the tripod, gave Noah the remote, and had him keep clicking until we got one where no one was blinking.  

Noah painted the three on the left (a smiley face, a sad face, and his name)
On the right - I painted the polka dot and camouflage pumpkins, Chris painted the Superman, and his parents' pumpkins are in the back.

Have you ever done a Pumpkin Painting Party?  Do you prefer to paint or carve your pumpkins?  

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