When I was growing up my mom was always involved with school activities in and out of the classroom especially around the holidays. She took room mom to a whole new level. At the beginning of the school year I finally had the opportunity to do the same.
It was meet the teacher night and I was filling out paperwork and signing up for volunteer opportunities while Callen played with his new classmates. I mentioned to the teacher I didn’t want to take up all the slots for every party but to know I’d be happy to bring in anything they needed and of course to count on some holiday appropriate cookies.
FACT: If you teach my kids or do any activity with them you will get cookies! Perks of having a mom that owns a cookie business.
She laughed and said, “If that’s what you are worried about why don’t you be our room mom then you can help with all the parties!”… Thank you Mrs. Meredith. Problem solved and now I have an outlet for all of my party ideas I collect in my mind and on my Pinterest boards.
December arrived and I started checking out all my favorite places for party supplies and inspiration! Target, Walmart, Hobby Lobby, and the Dollar Tree. So many cute options to choose from!
I ended up finding a fun gingerbread cookie table cloth and the cutest peppermint napkins at Hobby Lobby. Then I mixed in my other finds to create the perfect recipe for a gingerbread party!
Once I settled on the theme I started thinking about activities for the kids to do at the party. This takes us back to my mom and one of the traditions she started with us when we were little. At Christmas my family would decorate gingerbread houses together and then deliver them to friends or family who had been ill or lost a loved one during the year. We always loved getting to bring a little extra cheer to someone’s holiday.
When I saw the pre-built house kits at Walmart I sent a picture to Mrs. Meredith and shared my idea. The kids have 3 tables in their classroom so they would decorate 3 houses and then the class would give to someone in the school who needed some holiday cheer.
They had so much fun decorating and spreading the “glue” with the popsicle sticks and putting all the candy and marshmallows on their houses.
I wanted the kiddos to have something to take home too so the felt gingerbread ornament was a perfect end to our party. We left the houses to dry and got all the icing cleaned off of our little friends and they made their ornaments during circle time. This little guy is hanging on Callen’s little tree in his room!
I loved getting to pass on this tradition and making all the sweet memories!
Love and Sugar,
Jessica