So this is how it goes with the gingerbread houses in our home. We usually buy pre-made box kits with ready-made hard-as-a-rock pieces that A) usually include one cracked or broken wall and B) never stand up and stick together like they’re supposed to. Constructing a gingerbread house from a box kit is a job very much like stretching too-small fitted sheets over a large mattress or trying to open a double stroller while resting a baby on your hip–both things I’ve attempted more times than I’ve liked and rendered pulling out my toilet vocabulary. The things I mutter under my breath during gingerbread house construction most definitely take the Christ out of Christmas, and when the icing isn’t strong enough to hold the south wall up, you bet the glue gun’s coming out.

We’re coming at it a different way this year with a lay-flat gingerbread house that is not only easy to decorate but also doesn’t taste like a spiced 2 x 4–the No Cursing Ginberbread CAKE! Easy enough to make that you can bunch several of them together to construct an entire lay-flat gingerbread village.

We used this recipe for the gingerbread cake, and it’s perfection–“gingerbready” enough where you recognize that rich holiday spice flavor but still mild so kids like it, especially with a little buttercream frosting.

I used my mom’s classic buttercream recipe which I never measure–softened butter, powdered sugar, a little vanilla and milk. And I skip the pastry bag and spoon it into a large gallon-size Ziplock (stiffer than the small ones) and clip the tip to decorate.

We used this house cake pan and this evergreen tree silicone mold.

I love the options with a lay flat cake. You can stretch butcher paper out on a table and create an entire winter wonderland scene with these. And kids can extend their decorating skills to the paper, dusting powdered sugar snow, adding drawings, etc. I love the simplicity of just the brown cake with a little white frosting, but for kids you can go wild and add all the candy fixings, colored frosting, etc.

The trees are about the size of a cupcake, so you could set up a gorgeous dessert table with a village scene for a holiday event. Or lay out several of these cakes for a gingerbread house decorating party where kids aren’t crying because their houses are caving in. See? WIN for all.

When you’re done gazing at how pretty the finished product looks, slice it up and serve it, because it’s so good!

Save your cursing for when your tree dries up two days before Christmas, or when you run out of tape at midnight Christmas Eve with nine gifts still left to wrap, or–here’s a new one–when your brother buys all your kids Yellies for Christmas (no seriously, click on it. It’s a real toy with the single design goal of making parents lose their shit).

But gingerbread houses? Nothing but peace and love now.

Happy Monday!

Repeat after me: The best way to spread Christmas cheer is…

If you’ve seen Elf, you know that sentence ends with “singing loud for all to hear,” but I’m going to give you some other options so that you have a little smorgasbord of cheer to choose from, okay?

The best way to spread Christmas cheer is…swinging from a chandelier.
The best way to spread Christmas cheer is…going to Butch McGuire’s for a Christmas beer.
The best way to spread Christmas cheer is…making a festive necklace with a little Christmas deer.

I’m planning to do all three this season, but to keep this kid-friendly, let’s jump right into that last one because it’s easy, and kids will love turning any outfit into something festive and fun with these darling necklaces.

If you’re gutsy, combine all three and make one of these necklaces to wear at Butch McGuire’s while you swing from their chandeliers.

Here’s what you need – a small, lightweight ornament or Christmas trinket that would serve well as your “charm” (or a collection of them if you want to make more than one necklace). Since we made these, I keep spotting more little ornaments that would make the cutest necklace. We found our gingerbread plush ornament at Target, the reindeer one at Hobby Lobby, and the miniature bottle brush tree in a pack of 5 in the Dollar Spot at Target. These little snowmen are pretty cute too.

Then, all you need is some suede lacing (inexpensive, usually sold in packs with different colors at any craft store), some pompoms, and a needle and thread. I’m sure you could also use glue to adhere the pompoms, but sewing them on with just a few loops of thread secures it a little better.

Cut off any long hanging loops on the ornaments. If there’s not a ring on the ornament to slip on the suede cording, sew one on. I sewed the gingerbread man on by looping the thread around a few times, but leaving it a bit loose so it could “slide”. For the miniature bottle brush tree, I just tied some thread tightly toward the top of the tree to make a loop.

Sew the pompoms where you want them along the suede. We used different sizes of pompoms and sewed two on one side, one on the other to give it some interesting asymmetry.

And that’s it. You’re officially dressing festive!

These are great to give to little friends as gifts or make a great party craft. Then hang them up, and have fun choosing which one you’ll wear each day from now until Christmas.