Plaid Gingerbread House Decorating Party

Our family decided to throw a gingerbread house decorating Christmas party this year for all our little (and big) friends. It was sort of a last minute thing, so I really relied on what I already had, what I could buy locally or get through Amazon Prime to for all the decorations. My theme came together as a “Plaid Gingerbread House Decorating Party” with a little lumberjack-type flair. I was really a fan of those bottle brush trees this season!

Since this was all so last-minute, this party was more about friends and getting together than an overblown display and building backdrops and lots of extra decorations. I bothered to put up my Christmas decor, so I kinda felt that was enough!

But, just like anyone else I do get carried away at the craft store. These letters were in a box all together, and I just glued them in place. Rustic, simple, worked well with my decor.

The sheer number of gingerbread houses I had to have baked and ready (using Tikkido’s recipe and method!) meant the houses kind of took on a life of their own. I had them piled up everywhere!

The kids are all a little older now, which means they were pretty intense about their houses and spent a good 45 minutes working on them. Which is about 40 minutes longer than at our gingerbread party a few years ago!

This party is what I would call a “REAL” party. Not overstylized, over decorated, or made with perfection. Just a few little touches and thoughtfulness in what I DID do. Bottle brush trees, a few plastic moose and a toy cars from my son’s collections along with a spectacular tablecloth were enough to set the mood.

Tikkido’s gingerbread recipe is also great for cookies!

Even without weeks worth of handmade decorations, our guests had a wonderful time, and so did we! And personally, I think I enjoyed it more because it was so much less work than I usually do to get ready for a party.

Hope you and yours have a great rest of the holiday season, and that you put down the scissors and paper for a bit to enjoy each other!