Gingerbread Buildings Built...Next Stop--The Inferno

 There are things our family does during the Christmas season. Like most families, we look forward to this time of the year when we can gather and enjoy the time we spend together. One of the things we started doing several years ago was assemble gingerbread structures. This year...

We had a competition.

Really, the only reason we had a competition is because we bought a competition kit gingerbread village.

We are not "experts" in gingerbread construction. We don't go "over the top" or "all out." No, we're simple folk and try to have fun while not putting too much pressure on ourselves to make a flawless, perfect example of a confectionary building.

We built four houses for judging, and four others for fun. We put them together on Christmas Eve morning. Later that day, my son and daughter-in-law came over and officially judged the results. The competition kit even came with a blue ribbon--no red or white for second or third place--for the winner.

Though all were good, one rose above the rest and the blue ribbon went to my artist son (none of us were surprised...). 

Another tradition our family adopted years ago was, once the buildings were finished, we wanted a fun way to dispose of them. We used to buy fireworks and literally blow them up. We stopped doing that because it became harder for us to find fireworks in December. This year, we're going to take them into the backyard, build a huge bonfire in the fire pit and throw them in. We're actually excited about that.

Yes, it's the traditions that we look forward to this time of year. Building then destroying edible structures is one we really love.

Destroying A Gingerbread Village...A Taylor Family Tradition

A few days before Christmas I watched my kids participate in a Taylor Family Tradition. It's evolved over the past couple of years. We started building a gingerbread house for Christmas. The problem was, due to food sensitivities, we could never eat it--not that they look that appetizing, anyway.

So, what do to with it?

Why not blow it up?

Hence, a Taylor Family Tradition was born.

Both my wife and I brought traditions from our childhood into our marriage. And when the kids came along, we implemented more. And now, as the kids have gotten older, they'll expect to do things like building structures made of food and then using fireworks to destroy said buildings.

Will they continue this particular tradition with their new families? I sure hope so. And, of course, they'll discover new things they want to do, that will hopefully be carried on with their families. That's how traditions work.

The fireworks we bought--and we were hampered by the lack of selection--worked okay. They did not destroy the structures, just cooked them more. We used a fountain firework. Had we used aerials, they would have destroyed the little buildings, and perhaps some of the neighbor's landscaping as well. No, we wouldn't attempt that. Fountains are good--maybe next time we can have a couple of fountains pointed at the little town. We'll have to see. We're always trying to improve the process.

This little tradition has been fun for our family. It takes a few weeks to fully complete, which adds to the fun. The family looks forward to the building and to the destroying--just like a good family tradition should be.

Our New Years Eve Tradition...A Few Days Late

In preparation of this year's New Years Eve, we planned, we took action, and we eagerly awaited the time when the big ball dropped, because in our family, that's when the destruction can begin. Last year we began a new tradition. This year we decided to keep it.

Too bad the weather didn't allow us to do anything on New Years Eve.

Of course, it wasn't just the cold, but we had wind. Our little town is famous for the wind storms we get here. Those two things kept us inside while we waited for the new year to arrive. This created a slight dilemma. When were we going to destroy the kid's gingerbread prison?

Turns out, we were able to attack it last night.

It got dark, we hauled out the gingerbread structure and the pyrotechnics and had the kids battle the edible building. Now, had we been able to find fireworks that actually blew up the gingerbread prison, that would have been a lot of fun, but no--we had to use these Victory Swords. They were fun and the kids enjoyed wielding them.

Next year, we'll be more prepared, and hopefully, we can do it on New Years Eve. Wish us luck!