Winter Is Here!

Winter is here!  That means our new fiscal year has started and I can start programming with GUSTO again.  Fall is always a little sad, since most of my budget goes toward Summer Reading, and the kids are busy being back in school.  Now it's cold out and they're looking for things to do!

Today was Gingerbread House day.  This is a good example of adapting kid's programs for teens...you might assume they've grown out of gingerbread houses, but they definitely haven't.  I had a dozen teens--equally divided between boys and girls--here tonight with me.  This is another program that is as expensive as you want it to be--some years I've gone a little overboard at the bulk candy store, but this year I kept it pretty simple.  You can get graham crackers and frosting at Gordon Food Service, and they have a pretty good selection of candy too.  I bought Twizzlers, holiday M&Ms, small pretzel rods, gumdrops, and holiday candy corn.  I got a few kinds of sprinkles, and we have a lot around from past years too. 

I've found that frosting is NOT enough to hold the houses together, so for the past few years I've been hot-gluing them ahead of time.  Then all the teens have to do is decorate them.  They tend to eat the candy and socialize while decorating, so I've never had any real masterpieces come out of this event, but it is a GREAT time. 

Here's mine: