Making gingerbread houses is a well loved tradition in many homes. Originating in Germany in the 16th century, Gingerbread Houses eventually made their way into being a Christmas activity.
The original houses were adorned with foil and gold leaf – and probably much more ornate than what we do.
Since our family was looking for Christmas activities for children, we tweaked and streamlined until gingerbread decorating was as fun and stress free as possible.
Graham Cracker Structure
It’s a common practice to use graham crackers for your gingerbread house structure. Did you know the better tasting Honeymaid brand is more brittle, making it harder to build with?
Save those expensive crackers for eating and buy a few boxes of the cheapest brand, we had best luck with the Kroger Store brand. It was a little more forgiving.
When making the roof, attach the two pieces together and let harden off of the house first. Once it’s good and firm place it on top with more frosting to hold it in place
When Preschoolers are involved you may want to build a simple structure ahead of time so they can just glue on candy. It makes the gingerbread house tradition much easier.
This year my daughter built her own, with just a little help from me, she was ecstatic.
I let my kids use as much autonomy as possible to increase creativity and problem solving skills.
The Secret to Acquiring All that Candy
There is so much sugar in our society, too much really. I started using candy from trick-or-treating in gingerbread house making to reduce the amount we are buying and eating. Read here to see how I make it acceptable for our children. 😉😅
Decorate with candy on hand.
Tricks for Cutting Edges
This little trick will make it easier to define the edges of your crackers. Beware, it does not cut straight through a cracker, a serated knife will help with that.
If you just want a smooth edge, or an angle, use scissors to trim Graham crackers for your gingerbread houses.
Using scissors to trim, cuts down on unwanted cracks and breaks.
Building base
I used to stress (a bit 😉) about cutting out carboard, wrapping it in tinfoil… This year I just said, “hey everyone if you want a tinfoil base come make it.” Then I pulled out paper plates for everyone else. 😂😂 So much easier and one less thing for me to do, I love it. ☺️
When you want something quick and easy, use a paper plate, turned upside down and a flat roof.
My son made gingerbread kids having a snowball fight, while being yelled at by the preacher. 😂 He is very committed to his chapel theme.
The Best Glue Frosting
My favorite gingerbread house frosting by far. You know it’s good frosting glue if it can dry quickly and hold pieces together.
There are several different recipes out there with varying levels of egg white, cream of tartar and powdered sugar.
Less is more with this recipe, kind of like super glue, if you put too much on it takes longer to dry.
Gingerbread House Frosting
3 Egg Whites
1 lb Powdered Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla
1/2 tsp Cream of Tartar
Beat the egg whites till frothy. Fold in powered sugar, vanilla and cream of tartar.
Place in a zip lock bags and also rubberband the top closed. Then trim a very small hole off one corner . You can always cut a larger hole later if it’s too small, but start on the small end.
And you’re good to go.
What other Gingerbread House Hacks have you tried? Share below.
What do you wish there was a hack for? 🤔
Take care and happy building.
Your daughter’s gingerbread house is adorable.
I didn’t know that the cheaper graham crackers work better than the name brand. I also wasn’t sure what was the frosting to use. Now, I know.
Maybe next year, I just might try making my own gingerbread house.