By Carol MacAlister
A gaggle of pre-schoolers gathered last Friday morning at the Firehouse Cultural Center in Ruskin for a workshop on building gingerbread houses. Mostly Moms were in attendance, but there were also a few Dads, Aunts and Uncles who came with the tots to the program sponsored by the Hillsborough County Library.
The first session, at 10 a.m., had 37 youngsters pre-registered, although in the flurry of activity it appeared there were a good number that just showed up without warning. The second session promised to be less hectic, with just 25 registered to become gingerbread-house architects.
All the ingredients that any child could dream of were piled high on the tables: marshmallows, pretzels, M&Ms, Froot Loops, gingersnaps, gumdrops and, of course, incredibly sticky ‘mortar,’ which held the whole construction together — and which lingered persistently on hands, clothing and noses.
Two-year-old Kadence Wetterstorm was the first pre-schooler to finish her gingerbread house, helped by Mom Hannah and Dad Shane
There were pouts, tears, tentative smiles, triumphant grins and, at the end of the hour, each child proudly went home with a house.