This Year’s Gingerbread House..err..Train (Photos)

 I’ve gotten into the tradition of making a gingerbread house each year with the kids.  I enjoy it and I think it would be a fun memory as they grow older.  I’ll take their cues but I hope they like it as much as I do and they’ll want to get into planning and building them once they are old enough to do that all.  I wanted to do something different this year so I thought it would be fun to do a train.  

I found a great template and it was super easy.  It was the easiest one we’ve done thus far.  I’m sure the past experiences helped a ton but it seems like I finally got the icing thick enough.  Things stuck together much more quickly than in years past.  The directions used graham crackers as support which also helped considerably.  

enough with the babble.  On to the pictures (which everyone prefers anyway)

The kids had a sleepover at my mom’s this weekend.  Two nights of bliss which helped me recharge and get recentered.  I was so grateful because I am going into this week looking forward to it rather than dreading it.  Hubby went to go pick them up which gave me time to assemble the train before they arrived since the kids just care about decorating at this point.  Armed with a mug of coffee, I get right into it wondering and fearing how painful it will be.

Things move along quickly because the icing is so thick and sets quickly.  

All done with time to spare.  I even manage to run out to look for a couple things at JoAnn’s and pick up one final gift at Meijer’s.

The kids loved it and were excited to get started.

The kids opted to make the train look like the sample I showed them on the computer.

We put on the "glue" while the kids put on the candies.

Unwrapping the candies for the wheels.

All done!

Note:  Did you notice John made sure that all the M’s were showing and were right side up?

The kids are proud of their work.

Off to the North Pole!