Bad Gingerbread Houses

For the past several years, the Chang/Couplands make a gingerbread house at Christmas time.  One year, the roof caved in, but my sister-in-law caught it from collapsing.  Another year, my nephew  commented that it looked like the house was bombed and Santa was bleeding to death.  (He was right.)  The year with the Christmas Village was uneventful but unattractive.  This year was pathetic.

Grandma and Grandpa Coupland bought us a beautiful, gourmet German gingerbread house kit from a boutique near Blenheim Castle.  When we opened the box, the smell of gingerbread was gorgeous.  The gingerbread was soft and thick, not the hard cardboard stuff you get from Target.  The candies were bright, beautiful and very tasty.  

Unfortunately, we had some issues with the icing.  Apparently, "Whisk until stiff peaks foam" is important.  At least we had fun watching the gummy bears slide down the A-frame.  It all tasted good too.

Anna's face says it all