How to make a homemade gingerbread house...

First ... start with your favorite tried and true gingerbread recipe (Martha Stewart Gingerbread Cupids... add 5 cups of flour instead of her 4 1/2). Then wait until the molasses hardens before you close the book... this way... the next time you go to make gingerbread you'll be able to open the pages.

Put dough on plastic wrap by the cup full ... wrap and chill dough for a few hours ...

Use a ridiculous amount of flour to roll out your dough...

Find a gingerbread template off the internet and print it out.
Use pages 12-14

Cut out shapes...

And bake... I feel sorry for the people who buy crappy $10 kits... there is absolutely no uniqueness what so ever to their houses... plus... when your handsome husband asks you what you've been up to all day... and you tell him "I baked the girl who thinks she's a bird a gingerbread house today..." It will only reinforce his decision not to "let" his wife work outside the home... because he knows she has more important things to do... like... washing his laundry and baking...

Blend powered sugar and water together for the ultimate "glue"...

Did you know... March is national DVT awareness month? Neither did I until I dug this perfectly good piece of thick poster board out of my neighbors recycle bin...

Why on earth was this thrown away???

All you have to do is score it in half...

And cover it in foil... and you have the perfect base for a gingerbread house...

Sorry Grandma... but you are about to enjoy the "after life" as a solid foundation for a gingerbread house...

See... look at that...
December should be national
"Climb thru your neighbors trash and find treasure" month.
(I cannot believe I have not been kicked out of this neighborhood yet...)

Put your icing in a piping bag and get ready to rumble...

Measure first...
then outline where you are going to place your gingerbread pieces...

This is a two person job....

Ice the sides... then take a break...

And eat a slice of bunt cake...

A VERY IMPORTANT tip here...
you may need a few cans to help hold up the sides of your house for about an hour...

Okay... maybe like 6 cans...
Just remember to take the cans out of the inside of the house
before you place the roof on...

Pickles and olives seem to work well...

Then if you can... wait a few hours... or even overnight until you start "gluing" the candies on... note the "open air" roof line... that will come in handy later when you are sticking peppermint discs on the roof...

But of course feel free to open all the candy bags and sample each and every kind of candy... Of course you are only doing this as a safety precaution.... you wouldn't want to put stale candy on a gingerbread house... because that would be downright tacky...

Then... the next day... hand the project over to the girl who thinks she's a bird... because even though I do believe you are never to old to decorate a gingerbread house... IT IS ABOUT THE CHILDREN... so let them decorate it... Plus... kids are incredibly smart... they will cover the ENTIRE house with candy...Which in the long run... is a good thing...because who can resist walking by a gingerbread house...
and not picking off a piece of candy to eat?

I think this is the gum drop forest...

I don't know about you but...
I often dream of glow in the dark gum drops lining my driveway...Oh... and are you kidding me? Who wouldn't love to have the front of their house covered in gummy bears...

Well... that is until your brother walks by the next day
and picks them all off...