First Annual Gingerbread Marathon Disclaimer

Eight years ago I baked gingerbread for the first time. I found the recipe online and scratched it onto a pad of paper. My boyfriend and I spent hours decorating our house, complete with a basketball hoop in the driveway. The following Christmas we were engaged and we invited a few people over to my apartment to build gingerbread houses together. It was a hit and that was our first annual gingerbread house building party. We have since moved it to my in-laws’ house and I am now preparing for our seventh annual gingerbread party. As I do so, I must explain my sluggish blogging to my readers in my first annual gingerbread baking marathon disclaimer: I will most likely not be posting very many times over the next two weeks.

vision of my future for the next two weeks

The gingerbread party has grown substantially in the past years and now a bunch of our friends have kids and quite a few of our friends have made the party a holiday tradition— which is super cool! The not-so-super-cool part of the holiday tradition is that the number of guests require a lot of gingerbread baking hours for me. It took a long time even before I was a mom, but this year, with two eager helpers/constant interrupters I’m allowing a little more time than I usually do, in hopes that it won’t stress me out. I typically throw on my Santa apron, crank up Delilah and all her sappy Christmas stories, and stay up late, just me and the rolling pin in a kitchen that smells heavenly. It's a big time commitment, but I love to see our friends and family create houses and gingerbread people. Well, and I love to create them myself. This year I'm considering building a baseball field. The marathon is beginning.

And so, I leave you all with a history in pictures of our gingerbread party. 

Our first gingerbread experiment (notice basketball hoop)

My friend Sarah's house at our first annual party

My barnyard explosion at our third annual

a quaint cabin, third annual

Santa's wrecked sleigh and dead reindeer, fifth annual

castle, fifth annual

Jamie and me and our Elf, fifth annual

the night before...Aaron's chili and my gingerbread

drawbridge to my castle, fifth annual

Cal tastes gingerbread for the sixth annual

gingerbread in waiting

African safari, sixth annual

train #1, sixth annual

my train, sixth annual

my church, fourth annual

Jim and Vania's church, fourth annual

snowmen roasting s'mores, fourth annual

the Castaway and Wilson, fourth annual

I couldn't find any from our second annual party. When I do I will add them in. Happy Wednesday!