Would you believe that I have never made gingerbread houses or cookies from scratch?  Ever?  I have made them out of graham crackers or bought the pre-made kits to do with the boys, but I’ve never made the dough and the icing and rolled and cut everything myself. Until Tuesday. I’ve been so in love with the simple and pretty gingerbread houses I’ve seen spotted on Instagram that I decided I needed to make some of my own. I was supposed to go to the studio on Tuesday.  Kriste was there already, packing up the online orders from the weekend, but the pull of the gingerbread was just too strong. I gave her a call.  “So, there isn’t anything we really have to do today, right?  Would you be okay if I stay home and  make gingerbread houses?  You could come on over and we can do some brainstorming while we decorate…”

As I’ve been decorating for Christmas this year, I’ve shared that I’m all about keeping it simple.  Pretty things, fresh greenery, a few traditional touches and that’s about it.  I don’t want to have bins and bins of Christmas decor. One touch that I do like to add each year is a few fake presents.  Empty boxes that I wrap just to look pretty. I started doing this years ago when I didn’t have very much money for decorating.  I had empty boxes, wrapping paper and ribbon, so I could wrap a stack of boxes and set up a pretty arrangement on the cheap.  I also think that adding a few presents under the tree adds a little life before the real presents are put out on Christmas eve. I have a really hard time finding Christmas wrapping paper I like.  The blue & white paper selection is usually pretty thin,