For the past couple of years we have made a gingerbread house for our family's children to enjoy at Christmas luncheon and this year is no exception. Edward has also been very keen to make a Nativity Scene, to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas.
The actual gingerbread components were purchased in a kit from Ikea.
Gabrielle made some icing from pure icing sugar which doubles as glue to stick the pre-fabricated components together.
The white icing also gives a snow like effect. Although snow has no physical relationship to the Christmas period here in Australia owing to 25 December falling in the middle of our summer. However due to the British, European and North American influence on our culture the visual and psychological association of snow with Christmas is surprisingly strong. Besides, it gives us something with which to stick the confectionery to the gingerbread.
It's a little hard to see in these photographs but the finishing touch is a small chocolate Santa Claus peeping out of the chimney.
The finished product is something that kids love, and it looks festive too.
Next, Gabrille and Ed made a Nativity scene.
These wooden clothes pegs become the figures. A shoe box becomes the stables.
The manger is made from some light cardboard cut up and shaped into a box.
The clothes pegs have a piece of shiny pipe-cleaner like things wrapped around them to make arms and a couple of pieces of tinsel stuck on to make a beard for Joseph.
Clothes are made from some scrap material.
To make a smaller figure for baby Jesus the bottom of one of the pegs is cut off to size. His bedding is made from cotton wool, as is his blanket.
The gabled roof of the stables is made from an inverted vee shaped piece of cardboard topped off with the guiding star.
Some spiked leaves from a palm frond make up some greenery around the stables.
C'est voila.
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