Kate's Take

Back in the Spring we put together a few Virtual Ice Cream Socials for some of our classmates and family members. It certainly helped to lift our spirits and gave everyone something to look forward to. Now that it’s December, the virus is raging again and parts of Illinois are essentially back in a shelter-in-place situation and we’re looking for new ways to make the season bright. Enter my newest TAKE on a virtual party…A Gingerbread Decorating Party!

It just so happens that my oldest has a birthday in December so we’re going to use a virtual Gingerbread Party as an excuse to celebrate her birthday. However, if I’m being honest I would have planned one anyway…anything to break up ALL the days at home and make some memories with friends. We’re opting to decorate Gingerbread houses but you could just as easily do Gingerbread people. As with the virtual ice cream social, we collected all the supplies and dropped them off at friends houses a day or two before the event. Sharing all the steps to create a virtual party of your own below.

Decide on the date/time and create an invite. I used this pdf from Art Bar Blog , customized and then printed and pasted on card stock. I also used scalloped pinking shears to make the invites a little bit more gingerbread-esque.
The biggest key to making this party easy for everyone involved is to buy pre-assembled Gingerbread houses or pre-made Gingerbread people. Whole Foods sells both and they are perfect for decorating…don’t wait too long though as they do sell out! If you don’t want to bake the Gingerbread people yourself, I bet you could call a local bakery and ask if they would sell you undecorated cookies - therefore, saving you time an supporting a local business.
The next step is to decide what kind of candy you’d like to include with your delivery kits. We opted for the following: Dots, Pretzel Snaps, Necco Wafers, M&M’s, Lifesavers and Mike & Ike’s. Nilla Wafers are also some of my favorite to use for roofing. What are some of your favorite candies to decorate with? Do you prefer bright or pastel colors? This site provided us some major decor inspiration.
Icing is a necessary evil in this party and again, I wanted to make this simple for myself and for the other families so I was thrilled when I found these pre filled pastry bags by Pillsbury. Wilton Cookie icing is also a great option and comes in multiple colors if you’d like something other than white.
Once all the supplies were collected we packed them into these bags, added tissue paper and tied the invite to the handle.

Finally, deliver your Gingerbread party goodies to friends and/or family (this is one of the best parts) and have fun during your virtual event. We’re hosting our Gingerbread Party this coming weekend and we’re going to play some holiday music and wear our new candy cane aprons…hopefully, they help to contain some mess! We’ll be sure to share our finished products…Happy Holidays!

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