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Five-year-old Blakely Whitmore’s fourth annual Gingerbread House Tea Party last year was an affair overflowing with all the things little girls’ dreams are made of… festive crafting with sugary treats, a tea party, and of course plenty of pink! This gingerbread house party is a family tradition stretching back to Blakely’s grandmother who hosted this event annually for her daughter, Courtney. Now blogger and author Courtney Whitmore of Pizzazzerie, has loved being able to carry on the tradition with her daughter, Blakely.

What better invitation for this fun day than our Gingerbread Village Invitation featuring artwork by Creative Director, Lucy Young? Courtney embellished each invitation with a tiny red bow.

After many years of gingerbread house making under her belt, Courtney definitely has a few tricks up her sleeve to ensure not only beautifully completed houses, but also decorating ease for the girls! She uses her mom’s signature style of gingerbread house (with lots of fluffy royal icing), a recipe perfected after 40 years in the making! The pink bows and sprinkles atop each house are another signature flourish that Courtney adds each year.

While the signature gingerbread houses remain the same every year, Courtney tries to add other unique elements to each party. One year she made gingerlady cookies and iced the girls’ names on each one to serve as place cards. This time, there were miniature decorated houses on tiny stands at each setting – perfect for the little girls to take home for their dolls!

There are details galore to see from this party! We love the giant candy cane and red ribbon backing each of the girls’ chairs. The tablescape was adorned with pink buffalo check ribbon, pink tablecloths and lots of holiday red touches.

In case you are feeling inspired, Courtney has posted her gingerbread house recipe as well as candy suggestions on her blog post about this party here.

The darling Christmas tree in the Whitmore’s foyer was hung with the same tiny gingerbread houses found at each girls’ place setting as well as candy ornaments.