Christmas Traditions, Road-Trip Style

I’ve thoroughly documented our Christmas Gingerbread house building tradition in the past. But this year is a bit different. This year we’re on the road. I’d say “on vacation,” but anyone who’s ever traveled with children will know how much of a misnomer that is. Traveling with children is not a vacation. Vacations are restful and enjoyable and low-key. Traveling with children is more like taking the show on the road. Think… traveling circus. Yep, that’s more like it.

But, the kids don’t really notice that everyday routine things are harder to accomplish on the road. They don’t see the planning that goes in to making life run smoothly when we’re away from home. They just know that it’s Christmas. And at Christmas we must make Gingerbread houses.

Who are we to mess with tradition?

I must give credit to Alexander for his ingenious use of melted marshmallow as a building fixative this year. See, being on the road, we didn’t have the meringue powder that stiffens up the powdered sugar-based building fixative we usually construct with. (Also, I was not around to weigh-in on possible solutions. I was helping Aunt Karen clean at her place so she could join the party sooner, since her finals were finally done.) After several batches of powdered sugar fixative failed to “set,” the melted marshmallow fixative was born. Necessity and invention, after all.