Mission Impossible: Building a Gingerbread house without a kit

On Monday night, we made a gingerbread house as a family night - without a kit.
It was our first attempt without a kit and it turned out great!!

I had baked my first gingerbread house the prior week. I used a free pattern from internet.
Candies were leftover from Halloween (I had saved them).
Frosting was a mixture of 1 egg white, a little bit of water, and a lot of powder sugar, beat in a Kitchen Aid mixer for at least 10 minutes at the highest speed.
Oh, good ol' Kitchen Aid mixer. How can I live without? (Thanks to Tami for letting me use hers while mine is not working right now)

Here is J decorating the house

I cannot take a full credit of this beautiful gingerbread house. It was a true teamwork of our family!

I baked and put the frosting on the house and J put all the candies.
But that sounds too easy, doesn't it?

What really happened was:

While I tried to put houses together on the tray with frosting - M was trying to destroy the other house parts AND eat candies, J was sucking the tube of frosting, and my dear husband was trying to keep those kids off the table.

While I tried to put frosting on the house - M was still eating candies and J decided to join too. Of course, my dear husband was still trying to keep kids off the table and keep them from eating candies.

While J tried to put candies over those frosting - M was being restrained (ahem, I mean being cuddled) by her Daddy who was really trying to keep his precious daughter from those sugary candy to avoid evil sugar-high while singing lovely Christmas songs.

While I tried to make icicles on the roof and J tried to decorate the house with candies singing along with those Daddy's Christmas songs - M was trying really hard reaching out for "just a lick" of frosting between Daddy's arms screaming crying, while Daddy still singing Christmas songs to destruct her little girl. J was placing candies in his own pace.

When J and I finished decorating the house - M was having a total meltdown because Daddy was changing her into her pajamas and she is no longer within reach of candies. Oh, poor girl! And thanks to Daddy for making this mission to be possible!

By the way, here is how J decorated the house:

With army pants, beads on the shoulder, sitting on the table....not exactly a picture of a sweet little child, is it? But, that's okay.

Good time. Good family time. Good Christmas time.