From MomsGetReal Contributor Wanda Morrissey
The gingerbread house was far from perfect. The walls were slanted. The chimney wouldn’t stay on. The candy Santa Claus kept falling over and the icing was uneven; thin in some spots and thick and globby in others. No, you’d never find this gingerbread house displayed in a store window but I bet this gingerbread house brought more joy and created more happy memories than a picture perfect display ever could.
Granma came to visit today and brought a gingerbread house kit with her. “Will you help me decorate it?” she asked Jeffrey, my soon-to-be three year old. His response was to clamber into a chair at the table and try to open the kit. For the next half hour, they erected walls, built roofs and smeared icing everywhere. Granma used a knife to apply the icing and Jeffrey spread it around with a candy cane because he’s not allowed to have a knife. They stuck candies anywhere they could. Jeffrey sampled as many as he put on the house. Finally, Jeffrey announced that it was finished and he climbed down from the chair. It was then that we noticed the candy Santa had gone missing and that Jeffrey’s lips were really red.
No, it’s not the most perfect gingerbread house ever created but it’s Jeffrey and Granma’s masterpiece. Grandmother and grandson had a blast putting it together. That little gingerbread house helped create memories that’ll last both their lifetimes.
Thank you Grandma and Jeffrey for making memories together! One of my favorite and easy traditions was to use graham crackers instead of gingerbread for the smaller children. We also used the Halloween candy we had saved. There was hardened frosting and broken graham crackers everywhere with more children, but that allowed me to pay attention to the children instead of trying to make sure the gingerbread didn’t fall apart. The memories became the experience.