Do you eat the gingerbread house?

[deborah_r]

Never made a gingerbread house before. DH picked up a kit at Bed Bath and Beyond and we have been working on it since Sunday. Do people actually eat these or is it just for decoration? Everything seems edible, but being that it has been sitting around for days sorta-kinda loosly covered and we've all had our hands all over it, I'm not anxious to eat it. Also figure the gingerbread pieces would be stale? I was just wondering if it is just assumed you won't eat it, or if most people do eat it?

Thanks

[specialp]

I make mine from scratch, but I never eat it (though I will sneak an occassional M&M off of it). It's kind of a dust thing for me. I wouldn't eat anything that's been sitting out in the open air for 2 weeks.

[alien_host]

I don't eat it because it's stale and hard as a rock! Plus after all that hard work I don't want to be munching on it for dessert ;)

[billysmommy]

Half the fun is eating it :)

Billy & I took a gingerbread house class. Here is our house right after the class
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j28/loricaddoo/IMGP1721.jpg
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j28/loricaddoo/IMGP1727.jpg

And we let the boys at it the other night ~ they loved taking it apart and eating it
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j28/loricaddoo/IMGP1793.jpg
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j28/loricaddoo/IMGP1794.jpg

[mecawa]

We used one of the kits(from Target I believe) and we will not be eating it. It went stale really fast, it is still sitting out on the counter but I think we would break our teeth if we tried to eat it now. I guess we use it more as decoration and just a fun activity to do with DD.

[belovedgandp]

We let is sit out as decoration for a couple of weeks. When the icing starts disintegrating the slightest bump makes candy start to fall. Then it's a free for all. We eat the candy off of the house, but do not actually eat the house. We've just done the kits and I don't like the taste of the gingerbread when it's fresh out of the package, so I can't imagine two weeks later.

[sbirmantaz]

We got gingerbread houses from a bakery that specializes in gingerbread. They said that the tradition is to break the house apart on New Years Eve. Real gingerbread lasts for 1 month, not sure I would eat the cardboard type stuff out of the box though.

[Corie]

We have never eaten our gingerbread house. My DH and the
kids make one every year. After it's been sitting out for 2 weeks,
it is hard as a rock.

[kijip]

Gawd no. I like my teeth too much. That stuff, homemade or not, gets HARD after a bit.

Occasionally, a chocolate kiss bush might go missing. Maybe.

[oneplustwo]

In our house, if you build it they will come . . . to eat it. Like Lori said, half the fun for the kids is tearing it apart to eat bits and pieces. It's never been sitting out for long though -- maybe two days max. It doesn't look particularly appetizing to me, but then this keeps the kids away from the good stuff, so I can eat truffles and cookies in peace.