Gingerbread Birdhouse

I'm in awe of people who make their own Christmas cakes and puddings.  It's not just gathering all the ingredients, soaking the fruit, measuring, mixing, baking and checking for readiness, it's being organised enough in October or November when thoughts of Christmas are aeons away.  Needless to say, I'm not a pudding maker although the store-bought varieties, at whatever price, are never as good as Nan's or Aunt Flo's.

The holidays do put a certain pressure on you to come up with some Christmas baking, so this year's effort involves cardboard, scissors, ginger, cinnamon stick, some sliced almonds and few other things.  It's tempting to put it outside on a tree to see if the birds find it tasty.  In the meantime, it sits in sugary splendour, testimony to my home-made efforts.