How to Make and Decorate a Gingerbread House:
The majority of us will be using store bought kits to make our gingerbread houses. I’ve been
making houses for years and have only attempted once to bake the cookies. I encourage
parents at this busy time of year to have your student participate but give yourself a break if
you are not up to the task of baking! If you do decide to make a house at home from scratch,
remember that houses must be at least 75% gingerbread. Other items such as graham crackers
can be used to build houses or structures. We’ve also had many different structures other than
houses turned in over the last three years of the contest. We’ve had the Seahawk’s stadium, a
barn, a pirate ship, castles, snow globes, a space needle and lots of other unique buildings. All
of these ideas are welcome but we’ve also had many contest winners that just made traditional
gingerbread houses.
Parental help is encouraged and welcome in building these gingerbread houses with your
students. I wanted to put that out there because this is a family friendly event at Blackwell. I
have parties every year with my son and his friends. I walk around the table helping the kids
build the houses and help them with decorating ideas. I love seeing the kids come up with all
kinds of decorating ideas. Most of the time they won’t let me put my hands on their house to
help but just want encouragement and direction. I am hoping your child has a wonderful time
building this house with you and that it’s something you can use in your home as a decoration
throughout the holiday when the contest is over.
After you’ve purchased a kit from the grocery or craft store you’ll be eager to start decorating
with your student. I always need to remind my sons that patience goes a long way when
building a gingerbread house. Most Blackwell students will need parent assistance when
assembling a house. I have my son hold the sides of the house while I dispense the icing to the
sides of the walls to stick them together. Then I have my son hold it until we feel it sticking and
standing up on its own.
White tube icing is generally used to build and decorate a gingerbread house. Frosting is used
as glue to put together the walls & roof of the house. It’s also used to attach candies to your
gingerbread. Grocery and craft stores sell screw on tips for icing tubes that makes it easy to
apply. You can make your own icing at home too and use a zip lock bag to apply icing by cutting
one end of the bag and squeezing the icing down and out. If you’ve never tried it before you’ll
be hooked on how easy it is to work with frosting. You can add any type of candies and
decorations to your house. Feel free to create a back ground or a yard if you choose to. Be
creative and have fun!
The kits come with some candy but it’s never enough to complete a house. I use left-over
Halloween candy or go to the grocery store and purchase some ahead of time. Here are some
of my favorite gingerbread house decorating candies: M&M’s, Skittles, Bubble Gumballs, Red
Hots, Smarties, Lifesavers, Tic Tacs, Toffee bits, Candy Corn, Mints, Licorice, and Candy Canes.
I enjoy going to the candy store called Sweet Factory at the Bellevue mall every holiday season
to buy unique candies that they sell in bulk bins.
Crackers and cereal are also great for gingerbread house decorating. They can be used for roof
tops or for designing the porch. Candy canes can be used to support the roof of the porch or
make a lamp post. Ice cream cones can be used to make splendid pine trees. Powdered sugar
or coconut make great snowy ground cover. Use your imagination and have fun decorating!
I’d be glad to answer questions you may have about decorating. Please email me at
julie@scottandjulie.com and I’ll be happy to help!