I have to admit I haven’t really gotten into the holiday spirit just yet. It could be that there’s no snow on the ground, the ski hills aren’t even open and christmas decorations look extremely out of place. It could be that my family hasn’t even put up their tree or discussed holiday plans because let’s face it – we’re all so busy right now christmas is just another thing to worry about.

But on the weekend I stopped and thought back to when I was a kid and it felt as if Christmas would never come. The days seemed to drag on and on, my advent calendar would ever so slowly start to open itself up like a present unwrapping itself on Christmas morning. The chocolates and treats started to appear on our kitchen table and we would read books near the decorated fire place. It was magical.

I feel as though somewhere along the way I lost that feeling, somehow the holiday season has almost become something like a chore – a never ending list of things to do and buy. So I decided to take myself back to those younger years and spent all day Saturday with my best friend getting into the holiday spirit.

When we first had the idea of building a gingerbread house I thought it would be pretty straight forward, but I forgot just how difficult these things are to make. Did I mention that we went to a bulk store and bought all kinds of fancy candy to make it look extra special? Yeah – those red and brown roof shingles are individual chocolate pieces layered on top of each other with icing that was died with food coloring to match. Oh and the ‘snow’ is actually coconut shavings that we scattered around after we made a walk way with red and green nuts. Somehow we devised a structure inside it to keep the roof from sliding off (after a few hours) and managed to get it to stand for this gorgeous photo. I left before it actually collapsed, but our goal was to donate it to Sick Kids Hospital….if it survives the night.

Merry Christmas Everyone

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