Strap On Your Tool Belt for Monday's Gingerbread House How-To in the Mission

Apartment Therapy

Go all midcentury modern if you want to.

​The Crusades weren't all bad: They brought gingerbread to Europe in the form of spiced cakes and cookies. From there, traditions spread. Apparently, 15th century Swedish nuns thought gingerbread eased digestion. A hundred years later, Elizabeth I of England frequently presented illustrious court guests with gingerbread cakes made to look like them. The grisly folktale of Hansel and Gretel is responsible for popularizing gingerbread houses for Americans and Europeans.

If you'd like some expert advice about constructing and decorating your own, sign up for the class next Monday, Dec. 21, at green print shop Autumn Express (2071 Mission at 17th St.). Artist and sweets crafter Michele Simons will run the show. The cost is $40 (adults and children both welcome). House-building is slated to go on from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Call 824-2222.