(Gingerbread) House of Horrors

Saturday morning, for reasons unknown, I woke up thinking about gingerbread.

And then I thought, "A gingerbread house would be pretty cool."

And then Pinterest Me and Practical Me started their internal struggle. "You've never made one!" shouted the practical side. "You don't even have a kit! You'd have to make everything from scratch! You don't even have a printer - you can't even print out a template for the pieces! You'd have to freehand draw them! This is nuts!"

But like a psycho girlfriend, Pinterest Me came whirling in with a fervent insistence. "Gingerbread is easy to make! You have the ingredients! And the kids would love it! Look at this mental image of their happy faces! You love to make them happy! Happy holiday memories! HAPPY HOLIDAY MEMORIES FOREVER!!!!" 

*crazy eyes and lots of panting*

So that's how I ended up spending, like, half the day on a project that my kids were mostly interested in picking apart. Still, they did enjoy decorating it. So if you have a "Pinterest You" and she's trying to encourage this ... fun holiday tradition, here's how you get it done in twelve easy steps.

Okay, I'm lying. It's not all that easy. Not even if the Food Network says so.

Step one: find a good recipe.

So there you have it: how to make a gingerbread house. Your experience may vary.

Actually, let's hope it does.