This past Friday I hosted 3 of my closest friends and a few college girls (my daughters included) for a gingerbread house decorating party. Since big parties are still a bit of risk during these times, only my small circle came to spend time together.

I have to admit, this party was a last minute idea after seeing posts by Courtney Whitmore from Pizzazzerie® on Instagram. She hosts a party like this for her young daughters every year; a tradition since she was a child. You can check out her blog post by clicking here. I became so inspired that I decided I would do the same…the difference being that my party was for adults! Fun is not overrated, friends. And I highly recommend you do something like this, too, even if it’s just with family.

Here’s how I prepared for the event following Courtney’s instructions to a T. I had to assemble the houses a few days earlier. When you really think about it, no one really wants to assemble a gingerbread house at a party because it inevitably falls down while decorating it. And the fun part is really the decorating.

Courtney has a great recipe for frosting that acts like cement for the building and hides all the cracks. (You can check our her recipe by clicking here.) It works wonders! But beware—I mixed more than 23 batches of frosting for the 8 houses that I created—so buy a lot of eggs and powdered sugar. Let me also say that I’m no baker and this was my first attempt at ever using a piping bag, so mine are not as beautiful as Courtney’s but it’s okay for a first timer.

It does take a lot of time setting up these houses. But once they are done, it’s magical. Next, I had to set the table. I went easy with just a garland and ribbon for the center piece and decorated the rest with candy and sprinkles.

Everyone had a mason jar filled with various candies like airheads, skittles, red hots, small marshmallows, rosemary sprigs, etc. And of course we all shared when someone needed a few more red Dots.

There were gifts on each chair from Anthropologie…because what’s a party without gifts???

I made sure to have frosting tubes filled with icing for attaching the decor onto the houses. And just know that you’ll probably need 3 extra batches of frosting on hand for the party.

One friend who’s not “decor-inclined” even had a blast decorating her house.

We did this just for the fun of it, no expectations of any kind of end result. It’s all about teaching ourselves to play again as adults.

And don’t forget, we are the example to our own kids who are young adults…you need play for your mental health, well being, and happiness.

Can’t you see how much fun we were having? We sat there for over two and half hours laughing, talking, and decorating—old and young together.

I think I’m going to do this again next year…it was so much fun! Thank you Courtney from Pizzazzerie® for the inspiration! So Friends, what are you doing for just for fun this season?