Party On

There for awhile I didn't think our decision to split the kids for the girls' only Gingerbread Tea Party was going to work: Sis was dancing around with excitement the house four hours early while Bud cried and kept hitting pillows, inconsolable. And I was torn--I wanted Sis to relish the anticipation but I didn't want to unduly torture Bud; it was a long afternoon.

But we persisted and Bud was soon bundled off with Mama to the restaurant where Babysitter was working last night, as an added bonus.

And Sis and I dressed in more pretty pink party clothes and headed to our party, finally able to discuss in detail and with abandon how exciting it was going to be. Apparently, it had been the talk of the playground, with the little girls taking roll call of who was going to be there and who wasn't. Which might explain why Sis was playing with the girls when I got there and not digging in the sandbox with her usual trio of boy friends (I will NOT combine those words at this age!!). And it was to encourage her to bond with her playmates (it just happened to be the girls) that was a major impetus in going to an evening party without Bud, besides, of course, the fun factor.

And it was so much fun! The host family had gone to great lengths to create a warm and inviting child-friendly Christmas fantasy. There were nametags to set at a place where all the goodies were set out for decorating after we read Jan Brett's Gingerbread Baby. Sis even volunteered to be the Baby puppet and sang out her line when it was time. Then we set to work on our graham cracker houses with:

• miniature cookies shaped as wreaths, stars, and trees
• Santa cupcake toppers
• coconut for snow
• Twizzers and these rainbow striped candies
• candy canes and many colored candy canes
• SweetTarts and Necco Wafers, gumdrops (and other gummy things) and non-pareils
• Hershey's kisses and Tootsie rolls and red and green M&Ms
• red hots and these flat red Twizzler-like squares
• ice cream cones and green frosting for trees
• marshmallows, toothpicks, and food writer markers for snowmen, complete with fruit leather scarves!

Sis was very deliberate and independent, so I just watched as she created her little house. Then she walked around telling her school friends how nice their houses were, which we all lined up on the counter to admire. Right before heading to the food table for soft gingerbread cookies and hot chocolate (I had fudge and egg nog), all on gingerbread-themed plates and cups and napkins. Then we played "I Spy" with their huge Christmas tree filled with ornaments and admired the family's large collection of nativity scenes, Sis's favorite.

Sis couldn't wait to get home to tell Bud all about it. Though, he wasn't entirely receptive: he saw her cute house and wanted to have his own gingerbread party right then, at 9 p.m. last night! (Bud and Mama had a nice time at dinner, arriving home after us, even, though apparently Bud was too shy to talk to Babysitter much. But he did buy Sis her favorite chocolate cake dessert. Sis brought him a gingerbread cookie).

But he was on to something. So we're having an impromptu gingerbread house party on Monday morning since there is no school next week. It adds several things to my holiday to-do list, but I think everyone will have a great time.