Have I mentioned that I love to bake?

Believe it or not my Christmas baking has begun.

Shhh…This may be my Christmas gift for family members who live nearby. They are all quite large and very heavy. They are extremely fragile, as everything is edible. There is no way to ship these. Sorry folks!

I was lucky enough to be invited to take a gingerbread house class about 10 years ago. My teacher, Linda Black, was amazing. She makes the most gorgeous, ornate structures you have ever laid eyes on. I later took a series of cake decorating classes from her. They helped my skill level tremendously.

I’m addicted…I truly enjoy the process. I guess you could say it's THERAPY. The biggest blessing is that I don’t enjoy the taste of gingerbread. (Now, if it were chocolate, that would be a different story. It’s hard enough not munching on all the candy laying around.)

I have made about three houses so far. My goal in the future is to make them look more “lifelike.” I've spent many hours searching for new and different ideas, and I've found four really good patterns to try.

I’m always open for suggestions on things to try or houses to copy. Someone recently suggested my house! That’s totally out of the question. 1.) I would never be able to move it and 2.) it would take me weeks just baking gingerbread. For those of you who don’t know, we live in a very odd basement home with many patios and stairs. It would be a very challenging creation. I would need a team of little elves to help with frosting production and tip cleaning. (That’s the worst part about the whole job.) Any volunteers?