027. It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

This is the first year in a long time I'm actually in the Christmas spirit and enjoying winter. Yesterday/ today is the first snow of the year. It's actually pretty disgusting outside right now. It was raining/ sleeting last night, and tomorrow the high is about 9 so it's going to be good and icy in the morning.

My Christmas tree is all decorated and lookin good. There's even presents underneath it.
Today started Gingerbread Fest 2009. Every year my mom, my brother, my other brother's girlfriend, and I get together and build gingerbread house. It's basically become an all day event. We each build our own house and then put them together on a ceiling tile to make a gingerbread village.

Tonight my mom and I went on our mission for candy. $50 later, we had everything we could need/ want. We also started baking the pieces. Oh yes, we do the whole project from scratch. Make the dough, cut and bake the pieces, make the Royal Icing - all of it. It really is a great time, and it's definitely a tradition I hope to carry on when I have my own kids.

Patterns for the various pieces. We're doing slightly larger houses this year because my mom left her usual templates at work.

Pieces laid out on the dough being cut out. Rolling out the dough is my least favorite part. I find it so frustrating. This year I just made my mom do it.

It's quite difficult to take a picture of yourself while operating a pizza wheel to cut out gingerbread house pieces. Trust me.

On the cookie sheet ready for the oven.

Finished product ready to be assembled into houses.

Saturday we're getting together to build the houses, and I will be taking lots of pictures!