Last year, we held a gingerbread party for the children of our close family and friends. Kids and parents came along, brought obscene amounts of candy and jointly supervised the application of ridiculous quantities of icing to gingerbread igloos. The igloos were because making seven houses seemed too much like work….

This year we did make houses, but used graham crackers cemnted with carmelised sugar. It worked pretty well, but I misjudged a couple of things:

1. they should not be made too far in advance or they get a little soft
2. they should not be kept anywhere warm as the sugar adhesive then softens
3. they are not structurally meant to sustain the quantity of candy that most kids deem adequate
4. few structures are Sam-proof (Sam is the 6 year-old son and Star Wars nut of friends of ours. He was the only boy under five feet at the party.)

So next year I think I’ll go back to gingerbread and will contrived some easily-formed structure akin to igloos (which were just gingerbread draped over inverted bowls and baked). Gingerbread wigwams sound intriguing….

But the party went well. The kids had a blast, were well-behaved and there were no substantial melt-downs. Eleanor had a small set-to when she found out that Jean had discovered all of her secret places in her bedroom and announced them to the masses. (Her father promised to rearrange her furniture so as to make new ones. If the furniture is rearranged, Heather, you now know why.) Katie decided to engage in a full-body green icing experience and Abby though this was a great idea and followed suit. Much soap and water ensued.

The “adults” ate food, listened to music, swapped inappropriate stories laced with euphemism and generally had a great time. At some point, the guys ended up in one room and the women in another, which goes to show that even educated, enlightened, post-modern, non-sexist people can have a typical Newfoundland party. I drifted past the guys at one point and heard wafts of conversation pertaining to bad movies, extreme violence, body parts and the lighting of farts in tents. They were on a roll…

Shelley, Heather and I grabbed the comfy chairs in the living room, although Heather was mostly playing the violin and therefore standing. She worked through any number of tunes, some seasonal and some not. Can’t remember them all now, but there were at least three times as many as this time last year and all were very pleasant to listen to.

After everyone left, we tidied quickly, remedied our lack of laundry detergent, did what one typically does with laundry detergent with some urgency and I worked some more on the dollhouse. John did up some sort of a wishlist for us all and emailed his folks, although it turns out he needen’t have as they had already made arrangements of their own. Then he chatted with Nan, who apparently had a marvelous time on Saturday when we all helped her set up her tree. She was still working on the fudge remaining from that which I made and we brought over. Must make some more of that this week – it was really good, easy to make and has proven to be very useful as a “bring along” gift and a quick wrap-up for acquaintances.

All-in-all, a good weekend. Must get some more done on the dollhouse tonight after (John’s cousin) Margaret’s cookie party…..