Sunday, December 19, 2010

The great gingerbread house debacle

It started out innocently enough.  Lauren and I set everything up to assemble our Tarjay gingerbread house kit.   We put the house together just as instructed using the icing bag they give you in the kit and waited 15 minutes for the icing to set just as they tell you.  

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While the icing was setting, we opened all the candy and put it in little bowls for easy access.  By the way, this kit says it has LOTS of candy…ah, NOT! 

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Once we started decorating the roof, it started to slowly separate.  That’s okay, I thought, and just added more icing and held it together for awhile.  We finished decorating, with me holding that damn darn roof on the entire time.  As we were sprinkling our coconut “snow” around the house, the roof was slowly slipping until it slide right off!  It was a sad sight.

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That’s okay, I grabbed my E6000 industrial strength craft glue, slapped some on and put the roof back in place.  Here’s a look at our pathetic modest little house. 

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I had my back turned as I was cleaning up at the sink and when I turned out here’s what we had…

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Yup, pretty much total collapse.  Even the front and back pieces are drooping down.  That’s it…I’ve had it!  It’s now just sitting like this…I needed to walk away from it.  Lauren looked over and said…awwwww.  Maybe once it’s totally dry, I’ll take out the hot glue gun and see if it can be saved at all. 

Next year, I’m gluing the entire base of the house together first and letting it thoroughly dry before we go anywhere near it with icing and candy!

14 comments:

Kim said...

I was soooo going to get one of these this year.
Guess I won't be getting one..
it is still really cute.
have a great Sunday...
Hugz..

Carolin said...

oh no!!!! those things are messy, but fun ... even if it does fall apart!

M3 said...

Funny!! We have the same problem with our rooves every year, but my dad breaks out the power drill (seriously) and fiddles around with them until they're "structurally sound" -- it just kills me. I think it's my favorite part. Hee!

Love your coconut snow -- beautiful. We'll have to try that next year.

M3 said...

Um, I guess that's supposed to be "roofs" not "rooves"? Neither one looks right to me, and I'm too lazy to go look it up.

Lisa and Tate said...

I am tempted by those kits every year... but have never gotten one. I am hearing glue gunning first is the way to go. Even with the roof issues, the house is totally cute!

Mike and Rhonda said...

OH no. I have to admit the house was cute, so sorry about the roof. I know it was fun though. Glad you guys had fun in Disney. I will have to talk to you about it later. I think we may plan one for next Sept.

Lisa~~ said...

That's why we do the foam houses and I hot glue the structure together before I let Maisie anywhere near the darn thing. Her favorite part is the decorating and she's happy with snacks on the side.

Diane and John said...

Sorry that it did not work out...It really looks cute though. I was told that you have to use Royal Icing and let it hold for 24 hrs before decorating...just learned that this year! Our first time as well

Anonymous said...

Costco sells pre-assembled houses which cuts out most of the frustration. The icing for the decorating however, was still a pain in the butt!!!

Anonymous said...

Hi,
Lurker coming out of the shadow! I'm Swedish and we have a long standing tradition of making ginger bread houses and we say icing is useless. We use melted sugar. Melt some plain suger in a frying pan on low heat while you stir. It will take some time! Eventually it will turn all dark and liquid, dip the edges in the sugar liquid and stick them together, wait while they dry. This sugar mix dry very quickly but is very very very hot so a job for grown ups only. Have fun!!!
Merry Chrismas,
Lena - Mom to Miya from MaoNan

TK said...

I gave up on the put together type houses. This year I bought a pre-assembled one that came with the premade icing in a bag and some candy. It was SO much easier b/c the house was already put together and we just did the fun part. They just don't include enough candy to decorate like we would have liked. We always have to add our own.
I really think your's looks very cute, if the roof would stay on. Very colorful and I like the coconut too.

Kim O

Emily said...

What is it with you and gingerbread houses??? ;)
-Emily (your niece)

Anonymous said...

Next year: Melt sugar in a sauce pan and glue it togheter! Very hot but very strong!

Reneeks@gmail.com said...

Wow! I am very impressed with your gingerbread house! I did the chocolate covered pretzels and that was the end of my craftiness! Looks great and looks like you had a great Christmas. Happy New Year.