Visions of Sugarplums
This year’s gingerbread house is our best one yet! We buy the kit that comes with the house pre-assembled and some small bags of candy. Then, we buy some candy of our own to make it extra fun. We bake a chocolate sheet cake and frost it with vanilla to look like a snow-covered lawn.
We put the candy out in a giant muffin tin so the guys can see what they’re working with. They work together, each doing different parts of the house as ideas occur to them. I usually help Mikey do some patterns (like the red and green gumdrops on the roofline). It’s the elementary school teacher in me, trying to maintain his pattern skills.
Note
In the photo below, you can see that our actual house is sort of a mess…I just let it go. I truly believe the boys will have a happy memory of this Christmas tradition (and they won’t remember the mess at all). This time of year, I go for fun over responsibility at every turn.
Share This Post
About the Author
Erica Mauro is a mom to two teenage boys, Will who is neurotypical and Michael with Autism and cognitive delays. She holds a BA in Psychology from Colgate University and a Masters of Psychology in Education from Columbia Teacher’s College. Before staying home with her children, she worked as an elementary school teacher. For five years, she served on the Board of Directors of the Molly Ann Tango Memorial Foundation, a charity dedicated to enriching the lives of children with special needs. In partnership with her husband Dave, she aspires to parent by using daily life as an opportunity for therapeutic intervention, seizing on real experiences as opportunities to build skills and strategies for Michael in a joyful, loving home environment. On the tougher early days, she just tried to get everyone safely to bedtime and start fresh in the morning. *wink* 
Let's Connect
Subscribe to our newsletter for more updates