Real Parties: Red and Aqua for Gingerbread 2011!

In our family, it just wouldn't be Christmas without gingerbread.  Specifically, gingerbread houses.  Even more specifically, scores of houses, whole developments of houses, covering every available surface in the house.  We make them for neighbors, friends, teachers, every kid in the girl scout troop, in the preschool, in the class, etc. 

Gingerbread planned communities take over our lives for the first few weeks of December, and I wouldn't have it any other way.  My mother made gingerbread houses for all my little friends and classes and teachers through my childhood, and those are some of my most cherished memories.  I couldn't not do it for my girls.

This year, the theme and decor was influenced entirely by Frog Prince Paperie's Merry Little Christmas set of printables:

I knew from the moment I saw them that they'd influence and inspire the rest of my party design.

At our gingerbread parties, we always have tons of candy.  Tons.  I always buy way too much, because I like having a marvelous variety of candies for decorating.  And quite a bit of the candy and icing ends up in mouths  at our decorating parties, so there's no need for a dessert table.  But as I was planning the beverage and savory food tables, I came up with a background idea so marvelous (I say humbly) that I had to make some extra desserts.

My table backdrops WERE dessert displays!  I made layered styrofoam backdrops that looked like rolling, snow-covered hills.  Then I baked and decorated sugar cookies to look like houses, trees, snowmen, etc., to create a snowy country scene.

I was inspired by folk art paintings of winter country scenes when creating the design for the cookie-display.  I propped up the backdrops in front of the two windows in our kitchen, and hung red curtains (from the living room) on either side, so it would resemble looking out on a charming bucolic Christmas scene.  Much more festive than looking out on our warm Phoenix backyard.

Hot beverages included homemade cocoa and mulled cider.  I found styrofoam cups with lids--important with all the kids running around hyped up on sugar--and made my own custom cup cozies inspired by Frog Prince Paperie's designs.  The cup cozies were a fun take-home gift from the party as well as nice custom decor.

My daughter loved that I made her shirt to match the cup cozy designs.

One of my favorite elements of this party were the "Mixie Sticks" I created.  Think homemade Pixie Stix, but with flavor mix-ins to add to the cocoa.

I made cinnamon, espresso, and mint flavors.  These were a huge hit with both kids and adults, and one little girl reported that the cinnamon was delicious in the mulled cider, too.

A simple turquoise punch was the perfect cold beverage for the kiddos, and for the adults, we served pomegranate-lime white sangria (fun Christmas colors!), wine (with FPP's amazing labels), and a selection of beers.

Just the right selection to make everyone merry!

This year I moved teh candy display to the kitchen island, so that kids could access it from all sides.  It made that initial rush for the candy table a lot less chaotic and crowded this year.

The main attraction of the party was, of course, decorating the houses!  We invite the same families year after year (just adding new ones as we make new friends), so some of these kids are experts by now!  I adore seeing what new, creative things they come up with each Christmas.  I've been doing this since I was an infant, and yet they never fail to surprise me with new ideas.  I'm constantly learning from them!

As each family left, I had them pose for a photo with their magnificent creations.  Do you recognize the backdrop from the Sugar Plum Fairy party last year?  And how about those Santa Beards--look familiar from the Gnome birthday party a couple months ago?  The red curtains above?  Not only from my living room but also used at the Egyptology party!  I love recycling party elements in new ways!  

My littlest wasn't in much of a mood for taking pictures (for once!  She's usually such a ham and begging for photos!), but I still love her forced pouty face.  

I have to mention one more vendor: Modern Frills.  I'd already made the skirts for the girls, but hadn't figured out how to do the shirts yet, when I saw Modern Frills post the shirt my two year old is wearing for sale.  It was the right size!  It was the right color!  It was the perfect design!  It was MINE!  It's just gorgeous, my daughter adores it, and here's something I didn't know about Modern Frills clothing:  they clean up really well!  My little one got it pretty spectacularly messy at one of our gingerbread parties, including some nice splotches of black food coloring.  I thought we'd seen the last of the shirt, especially because I am not sophisticated about laundry.  Toss it in, add some soap, wing it with the default settings and hope--that's about as good as my laundry skills ever got.  But a little spray of stain treater and the shirt came out looking as good as new!

Happy holidays to everyone!  I'll be back with tutorials--including the Mixie Sticks--on Monday after Christmas.  

Featured on Amy Atlas! Gingerbread 2011

We're delighted to have our annual gingerbread house decorating party featured on the Amy Atlas blog this morning!

We'll have the full post with tons of pictures and all the details tomorrow!

In the meantime, do you remember last year's Swedish themed gingerbread house decorating party?

And the Sugar Plum Fairy birthday party, where all the kids decorated gingerbread houses as an activity?

Feel free to browse those to get your gingerbread fix until the full post of this year's party tomorrow!

DIY Project: Potsherds for an Archaeological Dig

Making your own mock archaeological dig for a party, school, or scout project?  Potsherds are a fabulous thing to include.  Easy to make, incredibly inexpensive (about $1 for a whole bunch of pottery bits), and authentic enough to make your young diggers feel like real archaeologists!

All you need is a Sharpie, a terracotta pot, and a hammer.

Draw whatever symbols you want on the pot, and then--you guessed it--smash.

I bought the pot from the dollar store, so the entire project cost me only $1 plus tax.  It was the perfect addition to our dig at the Egyptology party.

Recipe: How to Make Marzipan (and Marzipan Pyramids)

When I decided to make marzipan pyramids for the Egyptology party, I didn't intend to make my own marzipan.  Really.  I know I make pretty much everything myself, but this was supposed to be an easy little addition to the dessert table.

I had the pyramid shaped mold, but chocolate wasn't an option in Phoenix in October.  My daughter loves marzipan, so I thought it was the perfect solution, and bought two tubes of the stuff at my local grocer.

But it seems that I'm the only person who has ever bought marzipan from my local grocer, because it was so ancient and rock hard it was completely unusable.  I googled the problem, I tried the tricks for re-softening it, but it was too far gone.  I didn't trust any of the other local grocers to have better stock turnover on marzipan, so I was faced with making my own.  Luckily, it turns out to be pretty simple.

Basic Marzipan Recipe

• 200 grams ground almonds (I bought almond flour from Trader Joe's)
• 200 grams powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 egg whites

  1) Mix the ground almonds and powdered sugar together in a bowl.

Then mix the other stuff in.  Yep, it's pretty simple.  You can use a few tablespoons of water and brandy if you don't want to use raw eggs.


This is a great basic marzipan for modeling.  The Trader Joe's almond flour is nice, but they grind the whole nut, including the skins, so you do end up with little flecks of darker brown.  I decided it looked like weathered stone--perfect for a pyramid--and didn't care.  But if you're modeling figures, you'll probably want to find almond flour in a more even tone.

To make the pyramids (or other shapes) spray your mold with Pam or an olive oil spray, then smush the marzipan in the cavity.

There's not really a whole lot of art to it.  Then turn the pyramid out on the counter, and trim away any excess material at the base.

If desired, spray with gold luster dust spray, or dust with gold luster dust.  I always desire a little bit of bling on my desserts.

And that's it!  No baking required.  I think of marzipan as a somewhat sophisticated taste, but the kids at the party really loved these!  

DIY Project: How to Make a Full-Sized Sarcophagus Prop

This may seem a little out of season, but as awesome as this project is for Halloween, Egyptology is never out of season!

As soon as my daughter requested an Egyptology party, I knew I wanted to make some fun large-scale props in general, and a sarcophagus in particular.  Actually, my first idea was to rent some large-scale props from a local prop shop, but holy cow, that was expensive!  Just renting the sarcophagus case would cost more than my entire party budget.  And that's why I always come back to DIY projects--so much more bang for the buck!

Egyptian Sarcophagus Prop

You'll need:

• Styrofoam block
• various cutting devices (hand saw, EPS-cutting heat tool, electric kitchen carving knife, etc.)
• plaster of paris
• protective gloves
• gold spray paint
• craft paints in chosen colors
• burlap, cut in strips

1)  First you need to find an EPS (generic Styrofoam) block.  I buy mine from a local shop that specializes in architectural foam shapes and insulation.  It's really inexpensive if you can find a local place and don't have to pay for shipping!  I think I paid about $20 for this entire project.

I had them cut two blocks for me (grand plans for two sarcophagi--ran out of time and just made one) in 2'x1'x4' size.

2) Use cutting tools to first cut a rough shape of a sarcophagus.  I printed out photos of real sarcophagi from the right era to use as a reference when I was creating the shape.  On this project I first used a hand saw and a jig saw for the basic rough shape.  For the standing stone circle at last year's Cornish Fairy party I used an electric carving knife (you know, from the kitchen, the knife meant for carving turkey).  They all work, but the next time I embark on a project like this, I'm driving up to my parents' house and borrowing my dad's reciprocating saw.  Now that would have sped things up!

3)  Once you have the rough shape cut, use the heated Styrofoam cutting tool (basic ones available at any craft store, better ones available online) to smooth out and refine the shape.

4)  Once you've cut the shape, it's time for the fun--the decorative stuff that makes the sarcophagus come to life (figuratively ;-) ).

Spray the foam shape with spray adhesive, and glue the burlap strips to the sarcophagus to give it that linen texture.

5)  Don't worry about smoothing the edges down perfectly; the entire point of the burlap step was to give it some of that woven, wrapped texture.

Mix up plaster of paris.  Remember to use gloves to protect your hands from the plaster.  I always have food service gloves in my pantry, and use those for these kinds of art projects (and dying my hair) all the time.

The plaster dries quickly, so only mix up as much as you can use within a few minutes.  I found an old 9x13 pan held just the right amount of plaster that I could use before it started to set.  An old spatula made a darn fine plaster mixing tool, too.

Smear the plaster all over your sarcophagus form and let dry completely.

6)  Spray paint entire sarcophagus with gold spray paint for a base coat, then use craft paints to add extra details.

I painted the basic shapes, and then used a black Sharpie to outline and create extra definition.  The sharpie was also just the right tool for copying the hieroglyphics on the stripe of white on the front of the sarcophagus.

Yes, this project was a fair amount of work.  I spent several hours on the driveway, making a snowy mess of foam shavings.  That time, however, would have been cut down considerably had I been willing to drive the 15 minutes to my parents' house.  And the end result was completely worth it, even if I did use inefficient methods to make my prop.  There's just something marvelous about making something really big (or really, really tiny, for that matter).  The size makes it completely marvelous and magical.

Not feeling up to carving it yourself?  Here's a fun tip--a lot of the EPS suppliers will sell you cut out shapes, either from their stock collection or according to your design!   Just imagine!  City skylines!  Giant monograms!  Dinosaurs rampaging through your backyard!  Those are more two dimensional shapes, but would still be absolutely brilliant at any celebration.

Christmas Recipe: White Chocolate Peppermint Bars (No Bake!)

My grandmother was an exceptional baker, and worked out of her home kitchen as a cake decorator to help support her family.   At the holidays, her kitchen was a magical place.  She always had towering trays full of so many kinds of cookies, from elaborately decorated sugar cookies (she was a magician with royal icing!) to simple bars.  One of my very favorites, both then and now, are her Creme de Menthe bars.  No-bake chocolate minty deliciousness.  It's almost like a fudge in texture, but infinitely easier to make.  (I have yet to make a successful batch of real fudge--it's my candy nemesis.)

I wanted to make a special treat for my dear friend Liz, who helped me make dozens and dozens of gingerbread houses this weekend.  But she doesn't like chocolate.  (I know!  And we're still friends?)  So I decided to come up with a new recipe based on my grandmother's Creme de Menthe bars, using white chocolate instead.

Having sampled these delicious treats, I can safely say that they are a great success, and will definitely be making future appearances on my holiday cookie trays!

White Chocolate Peppermint Bars

First Layer:
Combine:

• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 2 T white chocolate instant pudding mix
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 egg, slightly beaten (can use ultra-pasteurized egg beaters or egg whites)
• 2 cups Nilla Wafer crumbs
• 1 cup finely ground nuts (I used almond meal, but walnuts or pecans also work nicely.)

Press the mixture into the bottom of a 9x13 inch pan.  Refrigerate for one hour.

Second Layer:

Beat together:

• 3/4 cups butter, melted
• 4 T peppermint schnapps (The clear variety.  If you use Creme de Menthe, your filling will be green.  Which is also pretty, but not what I was going for here).
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 4 T instant white chocolate pudding mix
• red food coloring (I used a small squirt of Americolor Super Red gel food coloring)

Beat together and spread over the first layer.  Refrigerate until set (at least 30 minutes).

Third Layer:

Melt 1/2 cup butter and 2 cups chocolate chips together.  Mix, and spread over the second layer.  If desired, melt some red candy melts and dollop the red chocolate on top of the white.  While both the red and the white chocolates are still warm, use a toothpick to swirl the red and white chocolate together to create a marbleized effect.

Refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Cut into small bars, and take care not to touch the top of the bars when cutting to avoid fingerprints.  Store in the refrigerator.

I think they'd be great with crushed candy canes on top instead of the swirls, too.  That would add an interesting bit of crunchy texture to the bars.  Next batch!

DIY Project: A Present Chain Advent Calendar

We typically just get those little cardboard advent calendars filled with waxy chocolates from the grocery store each year.  And the girls like them, but I've always wanted to do something more special.  I've been dropping heavy hints for a fancy advent calendar for years, something like this:

But alas, Santa hasn't produced one.  So this year, I decided to do something different, something more special. Enter the Advent Calendar Present Chain:

Advent Calendar Present Garland

I wrapped up 24 tiny gifts.  Seriously inexpensive things, all under $1.  Some are candies, some are toys, some are art supplies, some are inexpensive jewelry, etc.

I wrapped them up and tied them all together using silver cord to make a garland of presents, one for each day leading up to Christmas.

Yesterday's debut of our new advent calendar was a spectacular success.  I really like how visual this method is, too.  Those cardboard chocolate holders look pretty much the same no matter how many chocolates you've eaten.  But as the chain of presents grows smaller, Christmas grows nearer.  What a fun way to build up the anticipation.    I guess I'll have to cross that advent calendar off my wish list, because I don't think the girls will allow me to do anything else from now on!