The House that We Built, Part Two, The Winner

Christmas comes but once a year, for which I am very thankful because that's the only time I want to build a gingerbread house.

Whew, okay. I feel better now.

I'm just going to take you all on a "walk-through", pointing out the details as I go along. See above? That's the house.

My mom wanted a walkway, and my brother put it together lined with mini candy canes.

Both the aforementioned brother and my mom worked on the little chocolates that went in various places outside and inside the house. They did a great job, paying close attention to detail.

On the other side are more chocolates, a North Pole sign and two reindeers.

For a nice touch, my mom wanted the inside to be decorated a bit, and that's why there are two little gingerbread people inside...

A candy mold teddy bear...

The Christmas tree...

And finally, a candy mold rocking horse.

It was my mom's idea to completely cover the outside with crushed peppermint pieces (picture the three of us throwing the round peppermint circles down on the ceramic floor... it was much needed therapy), and my other brother made the criss-cross lines with pretzel sticks. The star window has a 'stained-glass' backing, my mom's idea.

Here's a picture of the back, which unfortunately looks rather flat. But those windows were my one of my brother's idea (read: not from the pattern), and it really added quite a bit to the finished look. Look at the little gummy bears in the windows!

So you can see the back better...

And that, finally, ends the tour of our little house. I took pictures of all the other gingerbread houses that I may upload and stuff later. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed!

*The entire process was accompanied by my dad, who earned the title of Official Overseer*