Nothing says “Christmas!” to me like making a gingerbread house with my family. This has become a family tradition that sometimes involves a whole pile of people and sometimes just my immediate family. Incorporate this as part of your tradition using my tips below to make this easy, festive and most importantly fun!
1. Pre assemble or buy pre-made gingerbread houses.
I love the gingerbread houses from Wilton, but they have been harder to find in recent years. We made all the houses from Target this year. They were sturdy, fun, and easy to assemble. I loved the variety they had and they came with plenty of decorations. I always supplement with extra frosting. Which is the important Tip #2!
2. There’s never enough frosting.
Buy or make royal icing to use for assembly. Here’s a great (quick!) recipe from Wilton and you can also buy pre-made icing at Target! The pre-made icing from Target was perfect for assembly this year and we had some tricky creations!
3. Supplement with extra decorations and treats.
Our favorites are spice drops and red & green m&ms. I always get extra because you can’t help but snack while eating! Other things I love to add are candy canes, pretzel sticks, and necco wafers or other wafer shapes for a roof like chex mix. Pearl sprinkles make this house extra magical (and blue-ribbon award winning!). Powdered sugar makes a beautiful snowy finish
4. Curb appeal is important in life and in gingerbread house land.
Make trees using upside down ice cream cones, a frosting leaf tip, and green royal icing!
5. Setup stations for all your guests.
Include a silicone mat, decorations in a cupcake tin or in silicone cupcake liners, spatulas, and bags of extra frosting.
6. Use a larger, round cake board
For assembly for maximum support and curb appeal!
7. Use a monochromatic color palette for your house for the most beautiful finished look!
In the past I’ve done a white/white theme and a gold/white theme. Red/White would also be beautiful!
8. Use disposable bags & tips to make clean up easier.
You can find these at the dollar store and sometimes in clearance at the craft stores.
9. Keep writing icing on hand for detailed decorations.
These are smaller tubes that come in a variety of colors. My daughter used these this year to make a “stained glass” window on her house.
10. Use a vinyl tablecloth for quick clean up and to set a festive mood!
I couldn’t find a holiday tablecloth this year and just used my Thanksgiving/Fall theme tablecloth, but this is a quick way to make things fun and festive. I wipe mine down and save them for next year.
The following songs should be on your Gingerbread House Making Music Playset:
Marshmallow World, Darlene Love…my all time favorite Christmas season song. Who doesn’t want to live in a magical marshmallow world?
Candy Cane Lane, The Ellas…I was hooked on this song the second I heard it. I love my holiday music with a vintage feel and this hits the spot.
Sleigh Ride, Kristin Chenoweth has a great version that combines this song with Marshmallow World so it’s pretty much absolute Christmas music perfection in my mind.
All I Want for Christmas is Food, Glenn Crytzer….the right amount of ridiculous lyrics make this catchy and fun
Gingerbread, Frankie Avalon….sounds like one of those songs I made up in the shower and forgot half the lyrics to, but if you’re looking for something about gingerbread specifically, this is it.
Gingerbread Man, Cookie Monster….ridiculous, but makes me laugh every time.
Jingle Bells, Frank Sinatra version has a great intro that you’ll be singing to yourself even out of season!
Snow, Bing Crosby….from that movie classic White Christmas is just a great winter time song. It’s upbeat, happy feeling will leave you warm inside even if it’s snowing.