Wow! What could be better on a Saturday night in our 'brown' Christmas season, than having a Gingerbread House-Making Contest! What an awesome idea! Of course the fun happens when you get to see everybody's own unique personality come out - and I'm not talking just in the finished product. From the very get-go the personalities are flaring! "Competition" is a word that's almost a drug for my husband. And the contest is on... Originality is rampant... And, by the way, nowhere in our rules does it say that the decorations have to be edible. Of course the first one to make that discovery was Ken. And then I promptly stole the idea!
And eldest daughter of mine is very precise, regimented and logically methodical in her approach - and so was frustratedly yelping and flailing her arms as her very correct 'house' kept dissolving into a pile of rubble. Bri won out, though, as first she managed to construct her house upside down, until it fell again, and this time pieces broke and she was forced to go the 'free-style' approach. Being the smallest person in the group, it was fitting that her finished product also was the smallest, but with lots of pizzazz and color and uniqueness, just like its creator. 
Back to my husband... he created the cutest, most original, and colorful house, and of course he finished first. He only cheated a little bit, though, with one side completed missing a wall and being held up by saltine cracker 'bricks.' It was amazing to look at! And he was so excited that he quickly took pictures of HIS house, smearing the lens of his camera phone in the process, and texted it to his sister for judging - BEFORE anyone else's was finished. It would have been fortuitous if his camera lens hadn't been so smeared that his sister couldn't even make out the picture - because, by the time we all finished our houses and were setting up for the REAL picture taking, his had
sadly, collapsed into a heap. (see picture below) It was a shame, because it was incredibly cute, just as he was as he quietly worked on his masterpiece, but it never made it to the judging. Ironic isn't it, for Mr. Competition? Just goes to show....
Now, for youngest daughter, our own resident artist, just as expected she worked happily away at creating her art, but also true to Michaela, unfortunate events and forces kept toppling her creations. She is a true artist, though, because each time it toppled she began again, with a new approach, creating new art out of old rubble. The best was her constant giggle lilting throughout the whole process. I must say that she used the added saltine crackers to the best advantage, making colorful 'steps' on the roof - no doubt for Santa and his reindeer, since her daddy had always pointed out the sound of and the tracks from Santa and his reindeer up on our roof, since she was the tiniest wee lassie. 
Our special guest and inventor of this competition, was of course, an architect. Can you pick out his Frank Lloyd Wright-ish design? True to his form he quietly created his structure, step by step, with no collapses, quietly humming and singing along with the Christmas songs streaming from Pandora in the background, totally in his element and happy as a clam. (Does anyone really know how happy a clam is? Must be pretty happy, to have a 'saying' created around him/her!)
Now some of you might be able to pick out which one I made - a little bit of nature included, and natural elements (ideas completely stolen from others), a lot of color and strange angles,... It only collapsed once - of course AFTER I became sufficiently smug in the knowledge that I had been working diligently all that time and MINE hadn't fallen.... a quick turn of the tray to get to the other side for the finishing touches, and boom! - both end pieces fall out! I tried to make a swift save, but managed only to 'sort of' push it back together. Ah all in good fun.
Great for creativity, and commeraderie, and laughs and the good cheer of the holidays! I highly recommend it! Oh and you should have seen the fun mess that we made! Some of US even were decorated! Talk about letting the child within come out and shine ....! Whimsical, wonderful, warm and delightful! Even some subtle lessons of life to be learned, for those who pay close enough attention. May your holidays be as merry and as blessed with love!
What are the activities you do that bring the people in your life together in positive ways? What could you do to spice up your Christmas experience? I'd love to hear what other people do - we can all learn new ways to enjoy this season and connect with those people most important to us!
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