In August, Mikko and I were at JoAnn's when he spotted this Halloween gingerbread house kit.
Now, I didn't know such a thing existed, and we didn't need one in August, but don't try telling Mikko that.(Our camera had broken and was sent off for repairs, so these are from our cell phone.)
Sam helped Mikko put the base together. This was the trickiest part because the icing was a really slippery consistency. That did not deter Mikko from slurping it off the knife.
At this point Sam gave up on trying to get the darn thing to look like the box and Mikko took over stacking the leftover pieces as he saw fit. (The can is to hold up the structure as it dries.)
Mikko decorated with the candy and icing in a 1:1 ratio: one for the house, one for him. Until he realized the candies mostly tasted terrible.
That black and gray frosting, though, was surprisingly delicious. (Warning: Your poop will come out intriguing colors, though. Just saying.)
What it was supposed to look like. Oh, silly Wilton. You are always setting the standards so high. Note that we were supposed to have rolled the gumdrops flat to be the light in the windows behind the perfectly scrolled icing and colored coconut shavings green to be the yard. Yup, that happened.
Our final creation! Pretty awesome, huh? Mikko has internalized one-to-one correspondence and made us put one ball on top of every gumdrop by the door, as you can see. He's my little Montessori teacher.
I think it ended up pretty spooky and festive. It's long past edible, but we have it on display still for Halloween!
It would be pretty
Bonus: Smashing the house when you're done is really satisfying, too!
I'm Lauren Wayne, writer and natural parent. I embrace attached parenting with an emphasis toward green living. 
4 comments:
It is definitely both spooky and festive, and Mikko looks awfully proud of it - even if it doesn't look precisely like the one on the box! This is the first year I have heard of a Halloween house, and I definitely think I need to remember them and get in on the action next time. Thanks for the idea!
@Melissa: Isn't it fun? I had only ever thought of gingerbread houses for Christmas, which is why I at first was hesitant to give into Mikko's request for a Halloween one. But now I'm converted. In one of the links I linked to, someone was saying they make a gingerbread (graham cracker) house for birthdays in place of a cake — wouldn't that be a fun tradition?
And, by the way, if you get a bunch of Halloween candy you're trying to use up but not by putting in your mouth (hee), you could always make a post-Halloween house and use all the leftovers for the decoration!
I think your gingerbread houses are way scarier than the ones on the box. LOL
NICE! Yeah I agree that your guys' final product was way more bada$$ than the box. This looks like it was so. much. fun. to do with Mikko :) Maybe next year E will be old enough for something fun like this.
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