Disney Gingerbread House

Before Christmas, we went over to Disney World to spend the day with our granddaughter and her parents. We didn't go to the parks, but did go to the Grand Floridian Hotel to see the real gingerbread house!

This is the 13th year Disney has featured the gingerbread house, the first one was in 1999.
You could smell it as soon as you entered the large hotel!

Here we are with Elisabeth:

Employees are inside the gingerbread house and they sell gingerbread people, gingerbread "shingles," and a lot of other very expensive goodies. The gingerbread cookie was $4.25, about the cheapest item, except for a chocolate chip cookie for $3.00.
I must say, the gingerbread cookie was delicious, just a hint of ginger!
It takes the Grand Floridian cast more than two months and 840 hours of labor to produce, cut and bake the 5,089 "shingles" used to decorate the Gingerbread House.

You are never too old to enjoy seeing a real gingerbread house! Joe and I enjoyed the cookies too!


The beautiful Christmas tree at Grand Floridian Hotel!

You can't tell how huge these ornaments are

The swans are at least two-feet in diameter!

The grand staircase:

Outside Grand Floridian:

Have you ever seen one of the gingerbread houses? I wonder if they change the style from year to year?

Do you like gingerbread? I made some a few weeks ago (with a Betty Crocker mix!) I used to make it when my children were small. I always serve it with warm lemon sauce! Too bad I forgot to take pictures when I made it!

I'm linking to The Tablescaper's Seasonal Sunday, click on her name for more!

Happy New Year!

Tablescape Thursday

Today’s tablescape is a little different. Inspiration for this tablescape came from these two toys I bought for our granddaughter.
I had planned to surprise her with a Belle Tea Party when she comes to visit us. Problem is – they don’t come to visit us!! When they come to Florida they don’t come to our house to stay with us, they go straight to Disney World for the week. Disney World is about two hours from our house. We are invited to go visit them there. This can be fun (and exhausting) but I would like to have our granddaughter come to our house to have memories of being in our home, etc! I’ve bought several things to do with her when they visit our house. She is now four years old, we haven’t had a tea party with her in our house yet.

So I'm having the tea party now and hope to someday be able to re-stage it if they will come here!
When I saw both of these Belle tea party tea sets, including the Belle as a child doll, I knew I wanted them for Elisabeth, who is a girly-girl, and enjoys girly things!
Mrs. Potts, the tea pot, and Chip, the tea cup has a place of honor as part of the centerpiece, along with the sugar bowl and faux sugar cubes.
A metal shabby chic plant stand is used for the table, with a cocktail napkin as the table cloth.

Mrs. Potts

Mrs. Potts is adorable, when you tip her to pour you push the knob on the lid and it makes a gurgling sound as you pour the “tea.” Belle sings several sweet songs.

The "plastic" tea slips just so far from the tea pot (then retracts back inside the spout when the tea pot is upright again!

Belle and Chip

The Tablescape

I used my yellow Fiesta dishes on a pale yellow tablecloth.

Yellow rose napkin rings on yellow napkins.

The little Beauty and the Beast plates top off the dessert plates.

Yellow handled flatware is used.

I took many pictures before I remembered my fresh yellow roses (a Valentine's gift from my husband!) They are perfect for the centerpiece!

Right?

Chip and Mrs. Potts ornaments are iridescent, the picture doesn't show the real beauty.

Belle
and

Mrs. Potts

Invite you to join them

Thanks to Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for hosting Tablescape Thursday, click on her name for more inspiration.

I'm also linking to Lady Katherine's Tea Party Tuesday. Click on her name for lots more inspiration.

Thanks for visiting!