On the Eighth Day of Christmas, My Daughter Gave to Me…A Gingerbread House Sweet Treat!

On the eighth day of Christmas, my daughter gave to me…a gingerbread house sweet treat! “What do you want to make this year?” I asked my four year old. “A Shopkins gingerbread house just like last year!” For the past three years, one of our Christmas traditions and fun activities has been making a gingerbread house together.

This past weekend, we had a fun time working on it, and I was impressed with how much Quinn’s grown in her creativity and dexterity. We made a good team as I squirted on some of the frosting while she held the frame of the house together. Then she came up with her special color pattern of adding the candies after I helped with the design on the rooftop.

Of course, my sweet girl asked if she could have a few of the extra candy treats not used as part of her decoration. Then, it didn’t take long before she wanted to take a little bite to share with her daddy. With a chunk taken out of the rooftop, our Shopkins Gingerbread house is on display adding to our Christmas decorations and memories.

All the best,

Tanya

On the Eighth Day of Christmas, My Little Girl Gave to Me…A Lesson in Gingerbread House Decorating

 

On the Eighth Day of Christmas, My Little Girl Gave to Me…A Lesson in Gingerbread House Decorating.

“Shopkins, Shopkins! Mommy, I need to look at the box first so that I have some decoration ideas for my gingerbread house,” my three year old informed me. Last year, we did a gingerbread train with her older cousin. While she enjoyed the activity, she really loved eating the candy more than using it to decorate.

This year, Quinn was excited when she saw that I got her a Shopkins gingerbread house and was eager to put it together as she studied the box to determine exactly how she wanted it to look. “I want the Shopkins gummies on the door and the different candies on the roof with more gummies. Does that sound like a good idea, Mommy?” she asked. “Of course, that sounds like a great idea, Quinn,” I reassured her.

Even though I helped Quinn with piping the pink frosting to put the foundation of the gingerbread house together,  I was impressed with how she took charge and did most of the decorating herself. Her finished product was just perfect, so perfect that she asked, “When can we eat some of the gingerbread house?!”

All the best,

Tanya

On the Tenth Day of Christmas My Toddler Gave to Me…Christmas Fun with My Little One

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Quinn and Her Big Cousin Decorating Their Train

On the tenth day of Christmas, my toddler gave to me joy selecting a Christmas tree,  memorable moments decorating, festive and fun goofing aroundpartying all night, excitement while visiting Santa Clauscounting down the dayshappiness at Sesame Place, bonding time making our own tree, befriending Santa’s elf on the shelf, and creating a chocolate cookie candy train!

When I was younger, I loved making gingerbread houses out of frosting and candy with my siblings. Today, I still enjoy this activity, but I had the opportunity to do it with my daughter and my niece, who Quinn admires and looks up to as though she is her big sister. Now, there are so many constructions and sizes from which to choose. Initially my two and a half year old selected the Hello Kitty gingerbread figure. Then she chose a house, but after she locked eyes with the chocolate cookie train kit, her mind was set; that was the one she wanted.

This is an activity where I’m glad my niece was able to join us because Quinn is still developing her pincer skills, and she tends to take her big cousin’s lead on activities rather than having me, her mommy, direct her every move. While this was a fun activity, I must admit that it was difficult at times for me not to step in with my “type A” personality and say how “we” should design the train, but I held back and was able to simply appreciate the togetherness and bonding of cousins. I’m sure they both appreciated it as well. What’s funny is that I while I was deciding on an area where we could display the train, they both were thinking about what piece of candy or frosting they were going to eat first. They were, however, kind enough to design a caboose just for me, and Quinn eagerly offered a piece of candy from her train to her daddy. But if I want one for display next time just for Christmas, I guess I better get one for them and one for me.

All the best,

Tanya