Our own version of Candy Land

On the weekend we had our now-annual cookie decorating party. I am only getting around to posting about it now, probably because I've been in a sugar-induced coma for the past few days. The kids were very, very excited about the party this year. They put together these trays with all the fixin's beforehand and I think that was just about as much fun for them as the party itself.This year, to mix things up a bit, we decided to make gingerbread houses rather than our typical cookies. We assembled the houses the night before the party. I had toyed with the idea of making them myself but wound up buying the pieces instead and just having to ice them together. Assembling 11 houses took a little more than an hour, much less time than I'd expected. I give most of the credit to the fact that I made royal icing using meringue powder (I didn't want to be responsible for giving any of our little guests salmonella by using the standard raw egg). The icing was like glue and I didn't have to contend with any walls wobbling or roof pieces sliding about.

I just accidentally deleted a photo I'd uploaded of some of our guests. Sorry about that. I guess I cannot provide the photographic proof here that anyone came over to join us in this activity. But the moms, who are all caught in unflattering, open-mouthed poses in these shots since we are busy gabbing while the kids create... they are probably quite thankful.
I guess that leaves me here with the end of the party - the other kids have all left the table and gone off to play. Liam is still methodically applying rows of peppermints to his roof and garnishing his front door with a wreath. This child is totally mine.
Here is his end product - neat and particular. I love it.Here is Mallory's end product. She heaped as much icing and candy as she could on one roof piece and then called it a day. Very typical for her, too.

We are now three days out from the party and I still have not cleaned up my dining room. (Don't judge me.) There is royal icing caked on many surfaces, and I just haven't worked up the energy to tackle it. I typically save this tablecloth from year to year but this year... I am considering tossing it just to be done with it. Yes, I just heard the landfills cry out. If it weren't so hard to find a tablecloth long enough to fit our table, it would probably already be in the garbage. As it is, I might take a stab at cleaning up the last of the stickies tonight.