Well, the only issue I would be concerned about would be sugar overload, but I grew up being told I'd have to eat a peck of dirt before I die.
It looks pretty clean to me and I doubt passing cats have been using it as a litter tray, for instance, so I see no harm.

Wow! That looks good.

--Doug

Beautiful!
Of course let them eat it....I am sure they have eaten worse scrounged from a corner of their backpack.
Linda C

Thanks Doug!

LOL Colleen and Linda!

Collen, No animals in the house. My husband is a clean freak. Imagine him going around with his Swiffer Dusters picking up every little dust bunny!

Linda, that reminds me of what little man does... he chews the zipper pull tag of his winter jacket. UGH!

Al

Wow that came out beautiful! You did a great job.

That is cool...of course let them eat it..

I was reading this and my 9 yr old came up behind me and said "woaaaahhh cool gingerbread house"...

I'd let them eat it, but if you (or your hubby) just can't get past the idea that it's bad, you could always make a fresh batch of those adorable cars and let the kids eat just them.

Thank you, thank you! Oh wow, slowlane, you have just given me the best idea! I can let them make their own race cars and eat them instead the cabin! Of course, they can eat some if they want to, but I bet they would love to make cars with their own signatures and eat them too! They can even make a few more to take home. How cool is that?!

Speaking of cars, you notice who's pulling Santa's sleigh? A team of penguins on top of the parkade! LOL

I would let them eat it.

That said, I have to tell you I love the gingerbread house, but those cars are so freakin' cool! Love em!

Linda

Bear in mind that it will all be pretty stale. Let them have a taste and then have the 'building blocks' alongside, all fresh, marshmallows, gum drops, cookies, crackers. After one taste, I'll be they will prefer the fresh stuff. But then, it's a bunch of little boys who are well known to eat either anything in sight or turn their noses up at everything. Of course, if it's BAD for them, they'll love it. ;-o

Thanks Linda!

LOLOL sushiup! "Of course, if it's BAD for them, they'll love it" Isn't that so true?! :-)

I definitely will go get some more gumdrops because I used every single one of them to build the scene. Think the boys are going to have a blast! Thank you so much!

Al

Al, that is pretty darned cute. My girls and I made a gingerbread "hovel" every year, and last year Makayla and I made a gingerbread "princess" castle and Bud and I made a gingerbread race car.

They always eat some of it, they sit around for a couple of weeks, get stale, get nibbled on, then get fed to the chickens, LOL.

Let the boys eat it, if they want to, but I agree with keeping fresh ingredients so they can make their own treats if they'd rather, which they probably will.

Annie

That really is so darn cute, and colorful!
I say, let them eat it! My GB constructions sit around the house for about a month before they are demolished by my son.
No need to worryÂunless you think you might be held liable for the kids' dental [G].

Sol

If eating a little dust was bad for us, we'd all be dead by now. I'd let them eat it, and what they will find is it will be hard and stale and no fun. I'd be most worried about letting them eat something that is almost pure sugar. But I know it will make them sad to throw it out, so maybe do offer making some decorated gingerbread cookies as a fun alternative.

I wonder if there are some other creative ways of "re-cycling" gingergread houses out there, for those of us who don't have chickens, lol! Grind it all up and turn it into "fairy dust?"

I suspect that a group of 8 year old boys will have more fun demolishing the tableau instead of eating it. Let them have at it, just for fun. Then you'll have the clean-up, but they will have a blast. Don't expect them to be delicate about it, either. ;-)

That is an adorable scene! So many cute details using very cleverly chosen candies and decorations.

We tried having kids and their guests decorate their own little cakes at one party, and none of them would eat their own creations! They wanted to take them home to show to their families. Fortunately I had backup goodies. ... You may want to have a camera handy to take pictures of everyone and their cars. You never can tell what eight year-old boys will choose.

Sure let them have at it. The only thing I would be worried about is chipped teeth. It must be a tad on the hard side by now. But it is okay to eat. Love the cars! NancyLouise

I just love your house! I make my own gingerbread houses, too, and the kids always want to eat them about 3 weeks later. Alas, or maybe luckily, all they end up eating is the candy. I was worried about dust, but pah! A little dust won't hurt them. Your idea of making the cars for them to decorate and eat is just perfect. Plus, they get the joy and ecstasy of demolishing something :)
Nice work!
Nancy

That Santa is amazing BTW. Actually the whole thing is amazing!