Gingerbread Houses

I signed the kids up for a gingerbread house building class a few months ago. Auntie Kimmie came along to help. It was hosted by the local grocery store; I had planned to do a similar thing in my kitchen, but this was SO MUCH BETTER on so many levels. They had endless supplies, helpers running around, special HATS and APRONS which I wouldn't have thought to supply but were a huge hit. Best of all? No clean up. I let Kimmie help Pequita, as I thought she'd be a bit more excited about the event. This was the case - Kimmie had almost no creative control, and had to facilitate the OCD-like symmetry of a 25 month old. I helped Monito, who was more interested in licking each piece of candy before I adhered it to the house with frosting. There was some pulling off of candy and licking the frosting off, but we nipped that in the bud. All in all, for kids their age they did superbly. We still have the houses, and are trying to keep the picking at them to a minimum until Grandma and Grandpa arrive to admire them in a weeks time. Hansel and Gretel have done some damage, but the basic architecture is still intact.