Gingerbread Man Sandwich and Play Dough

We recently had fun with a gingerbread theme, and this special sandwich was a huge success.  I made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on wheat bread, and then used a gingerbread boy cookie cutter to cut them out.  I decorated the sandwiches with white icing, and added candy eyes, and sprinkle noses, and mouths.

I like to make homemade play dough to go along with our themes; this is our gingerbread play dough:

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the way this play dough came out; it looks and smells fantastic!!!!!!!!!!!

Here is the recipe:
1 c. flour
1/2 c. salt
1 T. cooking oil
1 T. cream of tartar
1 c. water
spices (I used ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and allspice - I didn't measure them, just put in some of each.  I used quite a bit because I really wanted it to smell good and I wanted the spices to turn the dough brown too.)

I measured the ingredients into a nonstick pot and stirred until well mixed.  Then I cooked it over medium heat until the dough pulled away from the sides and formed a ball.  I dumped it out onto a cutting board and once it was cool enough to touch, I kneaded it until smooth.

I gave my children gingerbread boy and girl cookie cutters and rolling pins to play with this dough.  I also gave them beads to decorate their gingerbread boys and girls.  To make the dough even more enjoyable, warm it in the microwave before playing.

Here are two of our favorite gingerbread books:

The Gingerbread Cowboy by Janet Squires features a cowboy hat and boots wearing gingerbread man in the wild wild west who runs from the rancher, the javelinas, and cattle, but finds himself in trouble when he meets a coyote.

The Library Gingerbread Man by Dotti Enderle is about the Gingerbread Man escaping from his place at 398.2 on the library shelves and leading other literary figures and the librarian on a crazy chase through the library.  I think this book is a cute way to teach kids about the Dewey decimal system.