Gingerbread Houses...

Ok, this little ditty was not as easy as anticipated...but it all worked out and the kids had so much fun! Here's how it all went down...

So I find this free unit from the guru herself....Mrs. Jump....knowing her units are amazing, and she reveals all her secrets... I thought, like any sane person,... no problem ...we can whip these babies out! So, pressing onward, and short on time, I proceed to buy 13 small, heavy whipping cream cartons. I get home and my sweet husband helps me unload the contents of these treasures into all available household pitchers. All is well... so with cleaned and dried cartons and anticipating the delight and excitement of my students.... I happily get my graham crackers and hot glue gun ready to make the houses. Beginning, I realize {slight detour} the graham crackers do not neatly fit on to the cartons... hum...no problem... I'm going to cut them and make them fit...hum... that is seeming a little more challenging...so...Plan B...let the milk carton 'show' a little on each side rather than sporting a neat and snug graham cracker fit...the kids can just cover the milk carton part really well with icing... problem solved....

FOUR. HOURS. LATER. ... still gluing.... crackers start falling off the sides of the milk cartons... my index finger is numb and purple from pressing the hot glue gun and right at the peak of my frustration my 15 year old calmly walks into the kitchen, looks at the torture to which I have subjected myself, and informs me that none of the graham crackers will stick b/c I have not 'roughed up' the sides of the milk carton, and without waiting for a response, or more importantly offering any sort of help, he exits the kitchen....well, knowing, but not admitting out loud, that he was probably right {darn it} I decided to 'test' some of the other crackers...one by one, they all start popping off...so now, sweating and slightly panicking, I briefly entertain a fleeting thought that the mentally healthy thing to do would be to calmly acknowledge the fact that..." family comes first and as such, I am going to stop obsessing with this gingerbread house thing... and it's really okay... and we do not need to make them this year....and family first." In direct opposition, however,  I march straight to the computer and proceed to google 'hot glue gingerbread houses' ...at which point this website pops up... I click on it and find that this lovely woman simply hot glues the graham crackers to THEMSELVES! Brilliant!...I proceeded to do all 13 houses in about an 1/8 of the time it took w/the milk cartons.

Feeling rather smug...problem solver that I am...I head toward school... all 13 houses in tow. As expected, the students were giddy...couldn't wait to decorate those houses! Later in the day, as they were happily decorating their little hearts out, and I'm hanging the Grinch activity we had recently completed.... I hear from behind me....."Mrs. Downing! Mrs. Downing!! Gabby's roof just collapsed!!!" WHAT??!! I rush to her side and see that indeed, with all the weight from the peppermints and super-sized candy canes, her roof has in fact collapsed! "Not to worry Gabbs...We can fix this...just take this frosting and use it like glue... see we just put it right here and... there... all better...now, let it dry a little and then you can decorate your roof again...remember don't put as much weight on it." Again, I think...problem solved...

All told we had 3 roof collapses... but most fared quite well.

Bottom Line....
1) I will do this again next year BUT with milk cartons for stability
2) does anyone know how to hot glue graham crackers onto milk cartons...
3) a really hot glue gun is much easier to squeeze
4) Walmart brand Heavy Whipping Cream is actually quite good in coffee

Love these little boogers!