It’s been a while, hasn’t it? My job and courses kept me pretty busy as winter break and the Christmas holiday approached. I certainly haven’t forgot about writing, but sometimes forming a coherent sentence that other people might want to read is a little bit beyond me when I get a chance to go online.

In the beginning of December I hosted the monthly Crafternoon. My apartment is very, very tiny–one room with a kitchen and bathroom–but I have always enjoyed hosting things and I really wanted to have my friends over. Although the Crafternoons tend to not actually involve crafts, this one did–but crafts of the edible kind. I love cupcakes and cookies and sweet delicious desserts in general, so I decided to hold a gingerbread party. I really like fresh, warm gingerbread, but my family doesn’t bake it for the holidays; they prefer other cookies.

So I cleaned up my tiny house, warned everyone that they’d have to sit on the floor (we lack a couch), and started baking! I made the gingerbread, but asked party-goers to bring decorating supplies. It worked out very well. Even though my house and kitchen are small, there was enough kitchen table to place slightly-cooled gingerbread shapes on parchment paper, surrounded by supplies. My tiny stereo played an assortment of Christmas music, mostly Bing Crosby, and my tiny silver tree glittered in the corner where over a dozen lolita conversed over tea and cookies. It was definitely crowded, but no-one complained, and everyone stayed several hours late.

The gingerbread recipe worked out very, very well. I selected it from my Baking Illustrated tome, which is my go-to for baking recipes. (I adore America’s Test Kitchen and everything they do.) The dough was wonderfully spicy, with cinnamon, ginger, and clove, and it could make soft or crisp cookies entirely based on how thick the dough was rolled. Afterwards, we had a wide variety of frostings (Lina brought absolutely every color!) and sprinkles. I supplied sparklegel** in red and green~ Everyone was very, very creative! I think I have pictures of the cookies somewhere, but I was too preoccupied to take any myself.

Afterwards, when the guests had left, we made dinner with my little sister and her roommates. ♥ I had such a wonderful time. I really want to host something again–at least, if everyone is willing to come to my tiny home again!