Not everyone makes a gingerbread house at Christmas time. I remember one year as a kid we made a graham cracker train at a church activity, but that was as close as I got to a ‘gingerbread’ anything. My husband’s family, however, grew up making them every year. Like legit homemade gingerbread houses. When his mom and dad lived in Germany before he was born, the recipe was given to her by an old German lady who had befriended her.
When I married my husband, I took on the tradition of making them with the help of my MIL. It’s one thing I really look forward to every year.
Now days kits are available complete with frosting and candy. Whether you make your own from scratch, swiftly stash a kit into your grocery cart or are thinking about starting this new tradition and are little intimidated, I’ve got some helpful tips that will hopefully make it a little less stressful.
What Candy To Use For Gingerbread Houses?
How To Prepare To Make A Gingerbread House
Bake your gingerbread a few days before and have it ready.
Homemade or a kit, it helps to assemble the house a few hours before and let it ‘set up’ before decorating it. You could even do this days before, too.
Pour your candies into bowls so they are visible and easy to grab.
Have a pair of scissors on hand to cut open any wrappings or even use them to cut the candy if needed.
Along with the Christmas sales, I always try to pick up a few inexpensive platters. In the past, I’ve covered cardboard with parchment so make sure that’s ready to go.
Tips For Making A Gingerbread House
- Let them know how much candy they can eat before hand. Who wouldn’t be able to resist bowls full of candies? Remind them most of the candy is for the houses.
- Have a delegated icing person. I only fill one bag of icing and it minimizes the mess and fighting. They know I will put icing wherever they want me too and and it’s their job to place the candies. If you have older kids by all means have more icing bags and let them all have their own.
Best Icing For Gingerbread House
How To Decorate A Gingerbread House
If you are going the fancier route, try decorating the walls before you assemble your house. If you do this, let them ‘dry’ a few hours before you put it together. I find it easier to get a little more detail this way.
Here are some of the candies I’ve used and and love.
Gobstoppers
Mini Candy Canes
Peppermint Balls
Tootsie Rolls (think wooden logs)
Regular and Mini M&M’s
Nerds
Gumdrops
Colored Sprinkles
Sugared Sprinkles (for edible snow!)
Skittles
Red Hots
Pull Apart Licorice
1. {2008} Probably my favorite gingerbread house ever! I love the “fluffiness” of the frosting!
2. {2009} Grandma made this one that year and Liam couldn’t keep his hands off of it.
3. {2010} Liam was a great help with this one. I remember holding my new born baby in my lap and by the end he was covered in frosting and candy.
4. {2011} This was the year I went all out and made 7 houses (5 pictured) and gave them away to friends. It was kind of stressful (I tend to do that to myself), but had so much fun! Looking back, I was 6 month pregnant and was in that nesting crazy phase!
In 2012 I didn’t make a house. I just wasn’t into it.
2013 the boys and I made a house, but I didn’t get a single picture of it!
