Finally...

a gingerbread house that turned out! I've tried MANY times in my 30 years to make a successful gingerbread house and it has alway resulted in sitting and eating the broken pieces while chatting with everybody doing theirs. So I was reluctant when Blake bugged to buy the kit this year. Not having the heart to tell him they are next to impossible to build, we bought one. After putting up the walls and attaching the roof it all started to fall...that's when I broke the news to him that they're a pain in the butt, which he replied - "Maybe Dad should be doing this with me, momma." Fat chance. So we started over and held things a little longer to let them dry better and even watched "A Charlie Brown Christmas" before adding decorations to give it some extra time to harden. In the end I'm not sure who was more excited about how it turned out - me or Blake. Needless to say, I would recommend the kits rather than trying it from scratch!