Tips for Gingerbread House Making

5 tips for successful gingerbread house making.

It’s the most wonderful time of year again …decorating Gingerbread houses. We love this tradition at our house. As much as I love the convenience of gingerbread house decorating kits that are available all over these days, I’m not a fan of the price tag that comes with it. If you tend to buy more than a few for your family, the price can add up fast. I’ve come up with a few helpful tips to make this tradition easy and easier on the budget.

5 Tips for making Gingerbread Houses with kids

1. Use Graham Crackers: Meet Miss Ginger B. Bread’s cousin: Graham C. Cracker. 😉 Alright…so I know it’s not the real deal, but honestly if you aren’t making the gingerbread house frame from scratch at home yourself anyway, then it really isn’t the real deal. So…why not swing for the cheaper version since it’s all about the candy and frosting all over the house anyway. Plus if you have any accidents, cracks or breaks, it’s an easy swap out. Another reason I love the graham cracker is that you can change up the size and shape.
2. Hot Glue: Before you begin to decorate, use a low temp hot glue gun and secure all the sides together. This way there will be no frustrations from walls sliding or tipping from too much or too little frosting or icing. This does make it so the house isn’t completely edible, but that’s okay, who wants to eat that part after it’s been sitting out for a few weeks anyway? (Don’t say your 3 year old… ;))
3. Mount the house to a cardboard base for easy transportation before they start decorating. Just like you used the low temp hot glue gun to secure the sides together, do the same with the walls to the base. This will make it easy for little ones to take it with them.

4. Shop the bulk candy section for the decorating candy. By shopping the bulk candy section at your local grocery store, you’ll be able to get more for your money, and you can find different things you just won’t find in one of those kits..like green sour rope candy to make wreaths and grass.

5. Have little squeeze bottles ready for each decorator. Those little squeeze bottles filled with frosting make the job easy and a lot less messy, plus they’re cheap and easy to find.