5 Steps to a Perfect Gingerbread Home

Author: Samantha Lund | Posted In: Live | December 2020

It’s time to roll up your sleeves and get a little messy with this year’s Gingerbread Decorating Kits! Each kit comes with everything you need for the perfect gingerbread construction, but no matter how good the supplies are, we’ve all seen a house or two tumble over due to a flimsy foundation.

This year, along with the perfect supplies, make sure you have the skills to match! Here are five top tips for better confection construction:

1. Before Building

If you plan on adding frosting decoration or outlines to your walls or roof, we suggest laying your gingerbread pieces on a flat surface and pre-frosting to make the whole process easier and less messy. Then, once you begin construction you can add all the little extras that make you go “wow.”

2. A Sturdy Foundation

If you’re planning on leaving your gingerbread house up all month long, it might be time to sacrifice a little bit of edible foundation for a more sturdy construction. We suggest using a tissue box as a base and icing gingerbread pieces to the sides for a sturdy base for your home.

If you aren’t concerned with eating your house, you can also opt to hot glue your walls together, then cover with frosting for an indestructible structure. DIY caramel is also a great, edible alternative to hot glue.

3. Easy Upgrades

Talk about an easy upgrade to a kit: hard candies like peppermints or jolly ranchers can be baked in the oven to create a tile or stained glass effect. Use this trick to set your kit-made house apart from others with the same ingredients and pieces.

4. Don’t Forget the Scenery

Your gorgeous gingerbread home shouldn’t sit alone on an empty lot. Make sure to place a piece of cardboard or paper below your home to decorate your yard. Maybe add a path to the front door (see tip #3), some trees or woodland creatures.

Have you ever noticed how much an upside down ice cream cone looks like an evergreen? Or maybe with the right touches, a marshmallow could become a fuzzy woodland friend ready to greet you at the door.

5. Invite Some Friends

Just because the house is made of gingerbread doesn’t mean the residents have to be the same. If your little ones have lego friends or favorite character toys, this can be their winter getaway!

Inviting your child to build a house for Barbie or Batman can help get creativity flowing to make a truly unique house. What would Batman want his winter home to look like?

A few more simple upgrades:

If your house has a chimney, use a stretched out cotton ball for the smoke on top.
A few candy canes glued together makes the perfect sled.
Use a bread knife to get clean edges when cutting gingerbread.
Powdered sugar adds the perfect touch of snow.
Don’t forget, this is the perfect way to get rid of the extra Halloween candy hiding in the cupboard.