Fa La La

Saturday was our annual Kid Ornament Exchange and this year we decided to amp things up a bit by including some gingerbread house decorating as well!   We went a bit over our allotted hour for the party, but I don't think any of the kids minded.   :)

 Sophie's reindeer.

 Jane's snowmen.

Alex's Marios.

Ethan and Grace opted out of making ornaments this year, so it was a slightly younger crowd than we've had before, but it was still lots of fun.  Sophie  -- as per usual -- was putting the finishing touches on her reindeer popsicle stick ornaments the morning of the party; Jane finally focused on painting the rest of her snowmen the night before; and Alex went above and beyond with making his shrinky dink Marios over the course of several days last week.

 Just look at that stack of gingerbread house cookies waiting to be decorated!

We kept the menu simple with hot cocoa, {ready bake} chocolate chip cookies, and Oreos, and probably went a little overboard with the amount of candy and decorations for the gingerbread houses.  :)  But what can I say?  I'm an over the top kind of person.  Hahaha.  It may have taken several hours cutting out all the {extra-large} gingerbread house cookies by hand (using a cardboard template), but it was totally worth it.  They were REALLY fun to decorate.  ;)

After the treats were consumed and the houses decorated, we wrapped up the party by exchanging ornaments, with each kid explaining how they made it.  They were all so cute, and I was so impressed with how patiently the younger ones waited their turn and how adorable and fun all the ornaments were.

Before the party started, I was kind of thinking this might be our last annual exchange -- since Ethan and Grace were no longer on board with participating -- but once it was over, I realized there was no way I'm ready to let this tradition die!  Long live the Kid Ornament Exchange!!!  Hahaha.  :)

 Isaac QUICKLY discovered where the goods were.  Hahahaha.

 Candy!!!

{I made so many extra gingerbread houses that there were more than enough for Grace and Ethan to decorate some of their own, and Sophie, Jane, and Alex made an extra one the next morning as well.  And obviously, I couldn't resist making one, too.  ;)  Of course, I've since eaten my weight in gingerbread, so I'm not so sure making extra houses was a GREAT call, but let's be honest -- I'd do it again in a heartbeat.  Hahahaha.}

Six more days until Christmas!!!