Thimbleanna

Gingerbread Houses 2013

40 Comments / Gingerbread Houses / February 15, 2014

I hope you’re all relaxing and enjoying the week between Christmas and New Year’s — even if this isn’t a week of vacation days for you.  We’re having a quiet week — no kids home this year to keep us running.  And to prove it, I think this is the earliest I’m managed to put together the Gingerbread House post!

This year, we were missing three key players.  {BooHoo}  SweetiePie, TheFirstChild, and my CuteNiece1 were all working.  We were also missing the boy’s best friend who has joined us for several years, so his mother and sister filled in for us and we had so much fun that we’re all hoping they’ll be regular gingerbread house makers.  Voting was really tough this year — there were five houses and ten votes.  Two houses tied for last place with no votes and it was almost a tie between the other three houses.  With nine votes counted, they were in a dead heat with three votes each.  Luckily, the last vote was a tie-breaker, rather than going to one of the last place houses.

Team 5:  TheManoftheHouse and Me.
We got no votes. So sad LOL! Since we’d been to Iceland this year, we decided to go with an Icelandic theme. We decided to create the ticket house at the beautiful Jokulsarlon glacial lake. We had icebergs, a boat, and an employee entrance door that was too small to write employee in one line. ;-) We also put black sprinkles on our roof to represent volcanic ash falling on the house.

Thimbleanna: Gingerbread Houses

Team 4: TheSecondChild and NewGirlfriend.
Love appeared to be the theme of this house LOL. I think they did a great job considering NewGirlfriend had never made a gingerbread house before and as TheSecondChild says “I’m the least artistic person here”. I thought I heard one of them say that this was supposed to be a brothel, and knowing TheSecondChild and his history of naughty houses (he’s the one who started naughty houses many years ago) it wouldn’t surprise me. I thought the use of the hearts was cute — we could save this house for Valentine’s Day!

Thimbleanna: Gingerbread Houses

Team 3: CuteNephew and CuteNiece2.
For some reason, these guys love to pick on their older cousin and they re-visited the theme of a future house belonging to TheFirstChild and SweetiePie. A house full of wild children, a hard working SweetiePie and a lazy, football watching FirstChild. There were wild little kids everywhere — starting fires, hanging themselves, and wreaking havoc (they mentioned that all the children are girls, btw). SweetiePie was inside the house cleaning and TheFirstChild was watching football on the big screen tv. This house really didn’t look like anything special, BUT … CuteNephew had a big surprise in store for us. Just as we were getting ready to vote, the “big screen tv” came to life. He’d very cleverly left his cell phone inside the house and he “tuned” it in to a football game. It looked just like a big screen tv in that little house. He had us all howling with laughter and it was great fun. Oh So Clever!!!!

Thimbleanna: Gingerbread Houses

Team 2: CuteFriend’sMother and CuteFriend’sSister.
This cute “couple” did an amazing job on their house. They’re a McDonald’s family and we LOVED their house. They had so many clever touches and came prepared with the red and yellow dusting flakes. I loved their cute little Ronald McDonald, the kiddie ball pit, and the great snake-around drive-thru. These guys made voting really tough!

Thimbleanna: Gingerbread Houses

Team 1: MyDadLovesMeBestSister and CrazyBIL.
This was our winning house and these two were ruthless. MyDadLovesMeBestSister has been gunning for a big win all year — she even has a board on Pinterest titled “Gingerbread Houses — I’m Going to Win this Year”! CrazyBIL came prepared and right away he started carving a ski slope from cardboard boxes. Their theme was the up-coming Russian Olympics. Their house was SO darn cute and MyDadLovesMeBestSister outdid herself on the icing decoration for the house. Look at those beautiful loopy icicles! I LOVE the clever tow-rope up the front of the slope too. What a team! Of course, being CrazyBIL, he had to throw in the Olympic controversy too — I’ll spare you the narrative, but it’s there in the pictures!

Thimbleanna: Gingerbread Houses

So, there you have it. The 2013 Gingerbread Houses. It’s getting harder and harder to come up with ideas, but I think everyone did a great job this year!

Thimbleanna: Gingerbread Houses

XOXO,
Anna

40 thoughts on “Gingerbread Houses 2013”

  1. Karen

    how wonderfully fun and such a neat tradition – I would never be able to get my husband to participate in something like this – he doesn’t like to “play” :( now if the girls were here and the grandchildren I bet we could have some fun.

  3. Bonnie

    amazing again. Love the winners and I loved the icelandic ash. I don’t know if I’ve told you but we had a flight to Paris that was canceled “the day of” because of the “big” Icelandic volcanoe eruption a few years ago. You are all amazing!!!

  4. Amy L

    Clap
    Clap Clap
    Clap Clap
    Clap Clap
    Clap

    (Keeping my fingers crossed that the format holds…)
    I just love your gingerbread house competition.

  6. Jewels

    FANTASTIC!!!!! They were all winners, you guys do an amazing job. Looks like so much fun. Love your tradition, sorry everyone else couldn’t make it though. Have a Very Happy New Year!!!! xo

  11. Jodie

    I love this post every year…. You know you could run a bloggy gingerbread house competition… You could. it would be crazy but you could.

  12. Mary ann

    I look forward to this post every year and these houses didn’t disappoint. I do think you should have gotten votes for your clever Icelandic version but I have to say the winner did a great job…controversy and all!

  13. Jody

    Good job on the GB houses! How far in advance are you all thinking about this? Are you planning 2014’s yet? Like a campaign, you win the election and start planning for the next one.

  16. Linda

    What a fun family you have! not to mention creative! I can just imagine the good times you have while doing this. And we do all look forward to this every year and appreciate all that goes into it. As always, thank you all for sharing your good times!

  17. Diane

    Sat down at computer and started looking at blogs and it hit me…’Gingerbread houses!’ I love looking at the creativity each year, and this was another fine year, although sad that my perennial favorites were not competing this year.

  18. Miss Jean

    Anne: One of these days you are going to have to post a video complete with sound!!!! You have so much fun, I’m sure it would be hilarious!!!

  23. Janet

    Those are all winners in my opinion! What a clever family you are! We had a mini gingerbread event here with the three oldest grandsons(3,4 &5) with the help of Aunt E. I think they all had a blast and were very proud of their creations. I’ll show them your pics for inspiration next year!!

  24. Stina

    What a lovely tradition…bet you had some good laughs… And this is what all is about… To be together and do something fun… Loved to read all about it!! Want to wish you a fantastic New Year… May it be whatever you wish for!! HUGS!!

  25. Jennifer Henson

    I always love a good gingerbread house post! Such a great tradition! I loved them all! Such time and creativity are always put into each! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! :) Hugs!

  27. frayed at the edge

    Fabulous houses – I would probably have eaten my house before the judging!!
    No snow here for Christmas – just wind and rain!!
    Best wishes for a peaceful and prosperous 2014
    Anne xoxo

  30. Caroline

    I always love your gingerbread posts. One of these years, I’m going to be successful with creating a gingerbread house. I never should have watched that A and E special on awesome gingerbread houses.

    I thought of you on Christmas Day when my family went to see Walter Mitty. It had a lot of scenes in Iceland. Beautiful! I’m on a quest to find a pattern like the burgundy sweater pattern “Walter” wore while he was there.

  31. karen

    Always so much fun to see the annual gingerbread extravaganza. Love the future house for sweetie pie and firstson and all the wild childs lol. I think we are starting something like this next year – not a contest but a fun activity to do with the kids – who knows maybe it will end up in a contest lol. Might need some tips from you.
    Hugs – Mrs. Farmhouse

  35. brigita

    i always love the ideas your family comes up with – they are fantastic. we bloggypeeps should be able to vote, then you would win EVERY year.

  39. barbvedder

    OMG so fun. I’ve been looking forward to post and it was awesome! They are all great for different creative reasons, but the Olympic theme was really really over the top great.
    I love the big screen TV too –
    What fun Anna

  40. Berglind

    What a great idea, Gingerbread house contest, I should start something like that in this family :)

    I really – REALLY – think yours should have one, I mean, JÖKULSÁRLÓN!!!! Wow :)

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