I have had a whole bunch of holiday party ideas that I’ve yet to actually do, but this year, I decided to knock one of the list.
At the end of November, I had the very weird experience of being gone all day on a Saturday with various engagements, and I was surprised to come home to my family totally unruffled (even not really that excited/desperate to see me). Then next day, my husband and I went on our first ever out-of-city date since becoming parents 6 years ago. That weekend was a bunch of fun, but also left me feeling extremely weird, because I’ve not had this level freedom to do whatever since I’d always had a baby, or little-little kids. After spending a few days digesting this newness, I decided that, this year, we should also prioritize us adults, and do an adults-only party (kind of).
Last year, I purchased some mini gingerbread house making kits from a friend who has made them every holiday season for, like, a decade. They were the p e r f e c t size for small children, because they didn’t take that long to decorate. So, this year, I decided that we would host a gingerbread house decorating party for our friends in the neighborhood.
All of us have kids, though, and finding a sitter, let alone during the holidays (and when all your neighborhood sitter options are invited to the same party) can be pesky. To make it as easy as possible, we put all the kids in the living room, and played The Year Without a Santa Claus, and Frosty the Snowman. And it mostly kept them contained.
Because I wanted to keep the party simple, and it was in the afternoon, we only served Crio Bru, but had marshmallows, candy canes, and homemade whipped cream as optional toppings.
Since its was mid-December, the house was already decorated, but hanging the snowflakes I made with the kids for advent over the dining room table added an extra festive touch.
Then, everyone was able to make their own gingerbread houses and chat. Rather unfortunately, two personal things came up, so we only had half our guests, but it was still a nice time!
If you’re looking for a unique, but stress-free party idea for the holiday season, I can’t recommend a gingerbread + hot chocolate party enough.
*There are mini gingerbread kits that have 4 small houses that you could divide up, or you could do 1 house per couple; or ever do a bring-your-own-house option.
If you’re in Utah County, and would like to get the same ones we do, here’s a link to the facebook group where you’ll be updated each year when they make them.
