Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells… Yes, it’s time to start thinking about Christmas. Hectic, I know. If you love Christmas as much as we do, we have just the thing to get you in spirit – a Gingerbread House.
We built a Gingerbread House!
A couple of weeks ago we received a Gingerbread House Kit and I promised the girls that we could build it during the school holidays.
I’ve seen Gingerbread Houses in many Christmas movies and I love the look of them, but I’ve never thought of making one myself. I don’t bake. I can’t bake a decent looking cookie, so the thought of a project of this scale has never even crossed my mind.
Until now that is. The Gingerbread House Kit comes with everything you need including pre-baked panels. No baking required.
The kit contains the panels for the house as well as a variety of sweets and icing sugar to decorate your creation. All you need to do is add a little water to make the icing. The kit even contains a piping bag. The most ‘complicated’ part of the whole process is making the icing and keeping little fingers out of the mixing bowl.
The panels are sturdy and the house is super easy to assemble. And so pretty that it doesn’t really even need any decoration.
But what’s the fun in that? The girls loved decorating their Gingerbread House.
I think these smiles say it all.
Before I could even take a proper pic of their masterpiece, a part of the roof disappeared and that was that…
Apparently you don’t HAVE to devour the whole house right after it’s built, but it’s going to take a lot of will power not to. It is delicious!
We absolutely love these kits and building a Gingerbread House will be a family Christmas Tradition from now on.
The kits are available at gbh-kit-sa.myshopify.com for R249. Also make sure to follow GBH KIT SA on Facebook and Instagram for decoration inspiration.
xoxo
Making mince pies and Christmas cake and eating it with the family while setting up the Christmas tree
The only tradition that I have reinstated was to put a tree up. My parents view was there are no more kids in the house so why the tree. It’s enough that we dont have a Christmas feast at least we can have a tree – right?
Shared on Facebook as Leanie Foot
Share on Facebook Esté van Aswegen
Our little family is still pretty new with our oldest (4) and youngest (1). Usually we all help decorate our little Christmas tree. When our son saw the gingerbread house he got super excited.. Maybe this could be a new tradition to add for the holidays. xxx Carina Knoetze
I have two favourite holiday traditions….to bake a Christmas cake every year and making egg nog….mmmmm, it’s the best!!! But a ginger bread house wld be the best ever since my hubby does not eat Christmas cake! Hee hee
I dress my girls in matching pjs christmas eve. We play Christmas carols and just enjoy each others company with good food and the kids leave milk and cookies for Santa
The kids and I bake salt dough ornaments, paint them and hang them on the tree.
Shared to Facebook 😊
We always throw rocks on the roof and pretend that it’s Father Christmas walking on the roof. It creates such excitement for the kids! And then milk and cookies for Santa
Baking cookies together with my boys, but thought last year building/decorating a Gingerbread house looks like a fun tradition to ad. And my tradition is I need a trifle with the Christmas table and boys help with that too
We love baking gingerbread man and christmas cake as a family on the 1st of December and take it down with us to Plettenburg Bay to celebrate Christmas with my in-laws.
We bake ginger biscuits each year to take with us on holiday and my daughter makes her annual gingerbread man!
We love making traditional German Christmas biscuits in the holidays to give to family and friends. Shared on Twitter @capetownjax
We LOVE xmas time – that “magical” feeling in the air – the smell of cookies baking and the tons of fun & laughter making DIY xmas decor (color popcorn strings + cookies)- our long standing xmas traditions – sharing on FB (Losh Don Kisten)
We LOVE xmas time – that “magical” feeling in the air – the smell of cookies baking and the tons of fun & laughter making DIY xmas decor (color popcorn strings + cookies)- our long standing xmas traditions – sharing on Twitter (@loshdon)
Our family LOVE the christmas holidays! We start off every year by doing a huge spring clean and donating everything that is still good to Charity- we do this at this time of year so they can have something nice for Christmas it gives them time to sort and do what they need to. We LOVE baking during the holidays, i don’t feel complete if we haven’t baked something… this started with my great gran and then my gran and then my mother and now i do it with my daughter. We also love the night before Christmas traditions of leaving biscuits and carrots for Santa and the Reindeer….. santa even leaves behind shoe prints in the powder!! The reindeer sometimes join in two (much to the disgust of my cat hahaha – Sorry Duchess, your paws are special and we beg your forgiveness)
Its the most special time of the year! Growing up we were never allowed to open presents till after breakfast, but our stockings were put at the bottoms of our beds… i remember visiting my grandparents, and my sisters and i shared a room… i woke them all up at midnight to see what was in the stockings! Haha!! Starting similar traditions with my kids!
Not yet a tradition, but one that will hopefully become one. Last year my daughter and I baked and iced cookies which she gave to the eldery ladies in the hospital section of a retirememt village where my Mother stays. It was priceless to see their joy at receiving a bag of cookies from a stranger.
Mommy is an absolute sucker from Christmas. We start listening to Christmas Carols when the tree goes up early in December (ok, ok closer toward the end of November…). Everyone gets a special Christmas outfit to wear and everyone (including Dad) gets colour-coded for the occasion. I love baking and cooking so I also try and whip special treats up over the holidays and we will be using the kid’s art work as place mats for our Xmas table this year. Ho ho ho!
P.S: My four-year-old son discovered a reading of The Gingerbread Man on YouTube the other day and now he listens to it EVERY NIGHT on my phone before he goes to bed and he runs around the house singing “run, run as fast as you can, you can’t catch me, I’m the gingerbread man!” He will just adore this little house.
Liked and shared on Facebook.
The week before Xmas we spring clean and gift all our unused clothes, toys and books to Home of Hope and our closest needy friends.
Our favourite Xmas tradition is making tree decorations and also baking our own Xmas pudding and putting charms into it. We always put 12 silver charms into the pudding (you have to eat really carefully!) which the boys complain about because they’re for bracelets but hey! They have girlfriends now!
Also, we sing carols on Xmas Eve and it’s been the same for 20 years… no not Boney M or Mariah Carey. We sing old old old carols like Danny Kaye and songs like I’m dreaming of a white Xmas, I saw mommy kissing Santa Clause… and Rudolf!
Happy holiday season to all.
Shared on FB – Beth Naidoo
Tweeted @BethNaidoo
The Christmas tree decoration day is our fun tradition , while decorating our tree we have tons of snacks and treats , we write letters to Santa and finally decide on a charitable thing to do for the xmas season.
Jaide nobin. Love this
Shared on facebook Talita Germishuys
Shared on Facebook
Baking Christmas cookies and decorating them together as a family
Its a tradition which we love and look forward to each Christmas.
Twitter… @Laing.linda
Facebook.. .Linda Andrews Laing
Shared on Twitter
Shared on Facebook
Favourite Xmas tradition is sitting up till midnight to open the gifts
One of my favourite Christmas traditions is to sing Christmas carols together as a family around the piano on Christmas Eve. Very special xxx
Shared on twitter (janetwperry)
Shared on FB (Janet Watson Perry)
My favourite Christmas tradition was having cold lunch on Christmas Day. It was always just immediate family, and there was nothing better than cold turkey, cold gammon and cold potatoes, all served with salad. We had a hot supper with extended family as well, but my favourite was that cold lunch. Haven’t done it in a few years, but I’d love my son to grow up experiencing what I did :)
I love Christmas and that I can now enjoy it with my little one. My favourite holiday traditions include visiting as many Christmas markets as possible, Kirstenbosch carols, baking Christmas cookies and making a big Christmas bed watching The Holiday and The Family Stone [and many more bad Christmas movies ;)]. Would love to add building a Gingerbread House on the list this year!
Shared on twitter @cronh19
We watch movies on Christmas eve until the clock hits 12 and then we exchange gifts. If anyone in the family is asleep we wake them. After opening gifts we will have some cold meats and salad and stay awake in front of the television till Christmas morning.
I love Christmas and that I can now enjoy it with my little one. My favourite holiday traditions include visiting as many Christmas markets as possible, Kirstenbosch carols, baking Christmas cookies and making a big Christmas bed watching The Holiday and The Family Stone [and many more bad Christmas movies ;)]. Would love to add building a Gingerbread House on the list this year!
I love Christmas and that I can now enjoy it with my little one. My favourite holiday traditions include visiting as many Christmas markets as possible, Kirstenbosch carols, baking Christmas cookies and making a big Christmas bed watching The Holiday and The Family Stone [and many more bad Christmas movies ;)]. Would love to add building a Gingerbread House on the list this year!
Shared on Facebook (name: Ginette Potgieter)
Our tradition is:
1. The elves (we have 2) that come to visit for December…
2. A Christmas eve box filled with goodies and pyjamas for my 2 kids
3. A family reindeer rib (i.e spare rib) braai for Christmas eve supper ♥️♥️♥️🎄♥️♥️♥️
Shared on Facebook
Our Christmas tradition is each family member including the kids makes a wish whilst they get to stir the Christmas pudding mixture once only.
Shared on Twitter @Lynn_19426
Shared on Facebook Carolyn Augustus
Decorating the Christmas tree while singing Christmas carolls
Everyone, including the pets, has their own Christmas stocking handmade.
One of favourite traditions with my 2 boys is giving them new pajamas and Christmas books on Christmas Eve. Then we sit and read the new books while wearing new PJs just before going to bed:)
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Acc: Lauren Michell Gray
Shared on twitter
@Lauren04Gray
On Christmas eve each child gets a new set of pj’s to wear on Christmas morning, as well as a choc/something nice to eat. My youngest son will also sometimes get a Christmas story book☺.
On Christmas eve each child gets a new set of pj’s to wear on Christmas morning, as well as a choc/something nice to eat. My youngest son will also sometimes get a Christmas story book☺.
Shared on Twitter and facebook
Baking is definitely one of them and on Christmas eve santa comes and hands out all the presents, the kids just love it and it’s the best feeling seeing everyone having a good time and feeling all the love. Christmas is def my favorite time of the year.
Shared on Twitter – @Brig_Nel
Shared on Facebook – Brigitta Nel
Our favourite family tradition (since I was a little girl) is on Christmas eve, after the kids leave a snack for Santa & the reindeers, they put out their stockings and go to bed, then dad goes outside and rings some bells (que sleigh bells 🛷) The excitement is crazy! But the kids go to sleep quickly as Santa only comes when you’re fast asleep, right 😉
Also shared via Facebook
@LindsayLeighThomas
Shared on Twitter
@LoveMadeMe2015
The girls of the family watch Little Women every year on Christmas eve, its one tradition I hope to continue with my little girl as she arrives just before Christmas
Shared on Facebook, Suzette Viviers
Shared on Facebook, Suzette Viviers
Puzzle building is a family holiday tradition.
Baking. We all bake together in the holidays and we paint Christmas pictures.