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You are here: Home / FOOD / How to reduce festive stress – a fail safe gingerbread house alternative

How to reduce festive stress – a fail safe gingerbread house alternative

December 10, 2018 by Molly Leave a Comment

gingerbread house fail

For anyone feeling the festive pressure this Christmas, here’s my tip: lower your standards and live in the moment. Every year I send myself into a spin pre-Christmas trying to do all the activities and create all the magic, setting the bar of expectation so high that I end up feeling disappointed when something inevitably goes wrong. One thing that always, always goes wrong is the gingerbread house. We’ve done one for four years in a row and every time I’ve vowed never again.

On paper, it sounds like a great idea. A lovely Christmassy bonding activity to do at home. In my head, it will be a peaceful, joyous scene, the children sharing the task happily with the end result worthy of Pinterest perfection. The reality, though, is always a little different. The kids argue over who places which sweet where, the walls crumble before they’re even up and then no one actually wants to eat the damn thing so it eventually gets dumped in the bin. Maximum stress, maximum waste.

So this year I vetoed the gingerbread house and, surprisingly, the girls were 100% on board. Turns out they’re not actually that bothered by making the gingerbread house anyway and just went along with it because “You always seemed to really want to do it, Mum”. Oh. 

Gingerbread house alternative

I’ve not given up the tradition altogether though. Instead, I’ve found an alternative to the gingerbread house fail situation and we spent a lovely, peaceful, happy half hour decorating (and eating) these Organix gingerbread men instead. We used a mixture of Organix Goodies blackcurrant and apple stars, along with some regular sprinkles and icing to decorate them – it was so easy I feel like this is an activity even a young toddler would enjoy.

In fact, it went so well it’s spurred me on to attempt a second round of actual baking with the girls – I’m going to try this Peanut Butter Gummy Cookies recipe on the Organix website. And because they only take around 10 minutes to prepare, we might even attempt these Baked Honey Stars afterwards.

Whatever we do, I’ve now come to the realisation that so much of the festive stress I’ve put myself under in the past has been of my own making. I’ve been the queen of Christmas comparison, looking at other parents’ Instagram highlights reels and ramping up the pressure on myself to make every second glittery and magical. But the reality is, real life isn’t Insta life and the things the kids (and parents) will remember in years to come are the moments of laughter and fun, not if the gingerbread house looked Pinterest-worthy or not.

I’ve always loved Christmas but this year I’m even more excited than ever, simply because I’m determined to enjoy it and make it as stress-free as possible. Bring. It. On.

 

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Thanks to Organix for inspiring this alternative to a gingerbread house. This post has been commissioned as part of the No Junk Journey campaign. To find out how I work with brands check out my Work With Me page. 

Filed Under: FOOD Tagged With: baking with kids, festive activities, festive stress, gingerbread, gingerbread house

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Hello and welcome! I'm Molly Forbes - podcaster, presenter and blogger with a passion for positivity, confidence and body image chat. Regularly writing and vlogging about empowering female issues from a motherhood angle, I also cover lifestyle and fashion topics for like-minded mums who want to rediscover themselves after having children. Thanks for stopping by! Read More…

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Back in January I was on the brilliant @school.for Back in January I was on the brilliant @school.for.mothers.podcast - we talked diet culture around kids and practical things we, as parents, carers and teachers, can do to dismantle some of the messages and create body happy environments for children to thrive in. Here’s a little snippet and you can listen to the full episode wherever you get your podcasts ❤️ 
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Reminder: my book, Body Happy Kids is out 1st April and available to order now!
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[Video description: a pink square with blue audio wave and closer captioned text of a clip from an episode on diet culture and kids with Molly on the School for Mothers podcast.]
I am not “bossing” it. Or “slaying”. Or “hustling”. Or “smashing” it. I’m not even juggling or spinning plates or doing any of the other words we use as a glossy, marketable, Instagram friendly way to package up burnout culture, under the guise of “empowering” women (💪🤢). 
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What I have been doing, though, is working too hard. Call a spade a spade. I’ve been working too hard, neglecting my health, my relationships, my life away from my laptop. I cannot be everything to everyone AND work at the level I’ve been working at BECAUSE I AM A HUMAN BEING. And you are too. We are not robots.
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I care deeply about all my work, and things aren’t always this intense, but I wanted to sprinkle some reality into the Gram because I am so over this lie that *any* type of success or achievement doesn’t come at a cost, or involve many failures in the background, or require many other people to help make things happen. 
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I guess what I’m saying is, let’s be real about all that, as well as showing the achievements. I’m bloody proud of my book. And I’m so excited to launch the social enterprise @bodyhappyorg properly next month. But that doesn’t mean it’s easy, and that there isn’t a price. 
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And with that, I’m taking the weekend off. See you on the other side 🥰🥰🥰
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[Image description: Molly sits in her office with her hands covering her mouth. On the back of one hand is written “Not bossing it”. She is wearing a pink boiler suit with a black and white top underneath. She has pink leopard print earrings on and her hair is tied back.]
This was taken at the start of half term, when the This was taken at the start of half term, when the kids were still enthusiastic about going for a walk. 1,705 walks around the same bit of countryside later... not so much 😬 
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If you’re struggling to get your kids motivated to move their body at the moment, go gentle. You’re not alone. Bad weather coupled with boredom coupled with the lure of screens is a heady recipe for lethargy - and that’s just me! 
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Seriously though, remember: all movement is valid. Even if it’s just a ten minute @cosmickids sesh or a little kitchen disco, it all counts. And if it comes from a place of enjoyment and fun, kids (and adults!) are going to be far more likely to want to get involved.
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What joyful movement activities are your kids enjoying right now (if any?!)?
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[Image description: Molly and her two daughters are standing in a field. They’re wearing colourful wellies, holding hands and smiling.]
I founded a social enterprise 😵 . Introducing: I founded a social enterprise 😵
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Introducing: @bodyhappyorg 🎉
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We are a Community Interest Company dedicated to promoting positive body image in children. We help adults help the kids in their care be friends with their bodies 🥰. 
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Through workshops and classes, digital and physical resources (both free and paid) we help parents, carers, teachers, youth leaders - and any adults who are ever around children - create body happy settings for kids to thrive in. 
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We launch officially next month with a beautiful new website and lots of resources which we’ll continually be adding to. In the meantime give us a follow at @bodyhappyorg - we start posting from today and our page has been designed as a free resource on its own! 
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I’m privileged to work alongside an incredible team of people on this. Shout-out to the original dream team @chelseacoxstrategist @amysnellingpt @effinitupfaye @lottie_storey @bodyconfidencecards_db @rachel_hobnobs & @aceandping 💕 LOVE YOU ALL! 💕
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[Image description: A blue square with yellow and white text which reads “the body happy org”. This is the logo for The Body Happy Organisation CIC]
Proof that I did wear clothes other than a tea-sta Proof that I did wear clothes other than a tea-stained hoodie and tracksuit bottoms at least once in the past month 😐
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[Image description: Molly is wearing pink dungarees with yellow buttons over a black rollneck long-sleeved top. She has a monochrome striped hairband on and her hair is pink. She is also wearing earrings with boobs on them. She looks very pleased, both with her earrings, the pink hair and the fact she’s not wearing sleepwear, for a change.]
A new report from the Education Policy Institute h A new report from the Education Policy Institute has concluded an obvious gender divide in the well-being of young adults. If you’d like to read more check out this article by Eleanor Peake in @newstatesman (I’ve linked to it in my Stories).
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Every week I get messages from parents and teachers concerned about the impact of social media on their kids’ body image. And of course, I couldn’t write a book about body image in kids and teens without covering social media - there’s a whole chapter in Body Happy Kids dedicated to the subject. 
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The thing is, social media isn’t going anywhere. And just like it can be a force for anxiety, shame and general angst it can be a force for good too. The trick is in knowing how to use it positively (and in holding the platforms to account for not moderating the spread of harmful viral trends and online abuse, and creating algorithms that deliberately create division and harm mental health... but that’s a story for another day). 
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But how can we expect our kids to have a handle on it when we, as adults, don’t ourselves? 
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I don’t believe the answer is to ban social media, but I don’t think kids should be given unfettered access to it either. 
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They need help navigating this stuff, learning about boundaries, developing media literacy skills so they can think critically about the content they’re consuming (just like many adults).
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And we also need to explore how we might be inadvertently contributing to the problem, perpetuating appearance ideals and creating a culture where kids learn it’s ok to body shame under the guise of health and to value each other based on the way they look.
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As ever, it’s complicated. I’d love to know what you think? What are some of the boundaries you have around social media in your house - both for yourself and your kids?
#BodyHappyKids 
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