An Entire Suburb of Gingerbread Houses

My friend Jenn G. is one of those people you feel very lucky to know. Honestly, I don't just love her for her gingerbread. She is a truly amazing person, fun, generous and kind. But let's focus on the gingerbread for a moment here. She had this party amazingly orchestrated.

1. She didn't just invite a couple of friends - there were 30+ kids there! The lower right corner picture is just the first wave of gingerbread houses on the block. Seriously, the buildings sprawled all over the kitchen.

2. Homemade gingerbread, her own template for the houses and enough for each child to decorate and take their own - did I mention how many kids there were?

3. Homemade icing with Meringue powder that was a fantastic cement and tasty (not that I licked my fingers)

4. She had each house sorted so all the pieces were ready on a plate for each child. 2 roof pieces, 4 sides, two with windows, one with a door, two with roof points, a door, a tree, and two gingerbread guys! (did I mention how many kids there were?)

5. She had amazing amounts and assortment of candy - all the necessities and cool extras like chocolate rocks?

6. She had older girls helping ice/glue the houses together - the hardest part, which they made look easy.

7. She had the kids work in shifts and other activities running simultaneously - LEGO building in one room, trains in another and even a Christmas movie for those that needed some down time.

8. She had healthy snacks - apple slices and carrot sticks and kids ate them (mine too) How did she do that with all that candy around?

9. She had a candy system - it was all up on the bar in containers and the kids each got to come choose a cupful at a time to decorate with.

10. She keep things tidy, she looked put together in a cute Christmas apron, she remained breezy, cheery, festive and positive through the ENTIRE party, even with some twists like kids running around or letting the dog.

THANK YOU JENN! You are AMAZING!++++