Gingerbread house originated in Germany and has since been a super cute and a fun way to celebrate the Christmas holiday. However, I have found most of them don't last through the holiday without little fingers at play. And, if you are a school teacher, just know that it has already been eaten by the time the kids get home, so parents never get to see it. With that being said, here's how to make a gingerbread house that little ones won't even try to eat.
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💖 Why You'll Love This Craft
- No Mess: Skip the frosting and sprinkles, and focus on building, decorating, and making a festive house.
- Durable Decorations: Use craft materials like paper, foam, and buttons for decorations that will last season after season.
- Perfect for Display: This gingerbread house makes a charming addition to your holiday decor that won’t melt away!
🎨 Supplies Needed
- Printer
- Cardboard
- Scissors
- Pencil
- White paint
- Paint brush
- String
- Red glitter paper
🖌️ How To Make a Gingerbread House
- Step 1: Begin by printing out your free gingerbread house template. Cut out each piece and set to one side.
- Step 2: Draw around each template on your cardboard and then cut out using the scissors.
- Step 3: Glue the sides and pieces of your house together and leave to set. Next, poke a hole into the roof of your gingerbread house and add string, so your Christmas decoration can be hung on the tree later.
- Step 4: Glue the roof onto the body of the house, followed by the small chimney piece.
Once your house is completed you can decorate as you please.
We chose to use white paint and add a bright red glitter heart on the front of our house ornament.
If you're making these Christmas crafts with preschool or older kids, you may want to provide plenty of different colored paint, and media such as buttons and fabric to encourage the kids to use their imaginations and create their own unique decorations.
This would be a fun classroom craft for the Christmas season and could even make a fantastic homemade Christmas gift idea.
If you liked this craft, don't forget to check out some of our other crafts such as the Gingerbread House Ornament.
💡 Pro Tip: Overlap small candies or cereal pieces like shingles when decorating the roof to build natural texture and make the design visually richer.
🧑🎨 Expert Tips
- Pre-Curve the Roof: Gently curve roof pieces slightly before assembling to help prevent cracking or snapping when attaching them at sharper angles.
- Hidden Support Trick: Place a small, trimmed piece of graham cracker or cookie inside the house as an internal brace to stabilize larger gingerbread structures.
- Frosting Border Base: Pipe a thick frosting line onto the display surface before placing the walls to lock them in place more securely from the start.
- Candy Pattern Planning: Lay out your candy decorations on a separate plate first to arrange colors and shapes, making final placement faster and more balanced.
- Tinted Icing Variation: Separate icing into small batches and tint them soft pastel shades for a unique, colorful house design instead of using only white.
- Tiny Character Additions: Sculpt mini trees, snowmen, or animals from fondant or candy clay to create a fuller, storybook-like gingerbread house scene.
💭 FAQs
Decorated gingerbread houses can be awarded as unique edible trophies during holiday contests like cookie bake-offs, making the prize both fun and delicious.
Designating a yearly family gingerbread house day builds a custom holiday tradition that strengthens family bonds and adds memories to every season.
Photographing your custom gingerbread creations can create original postcards, offering a personalized holiday greeting far more memorable than store-bought cards.
Auctioning hand-decorated gingerbread houses at local holiday fundraisers can attract bidders, raising more money while spreading festive spirit creatively.
Did you make this craft? Leave a review and comment below! Alternatively, bookmark it in your browser or save to Pinterest.
Download Printable
Download your Free Gingerbread House Template here!
How to Make a Gingerbread House Without Food
Equipment
- Scissors
Materials
- Printer
- Cardboard
- Pencil
- White paint
- Paint brush
- String
- Red glitter paper
Instructions
- Begin by printing out your template.
- Cut out each piece and set it to one side.
- Draw around each template on your cardboard and then cut out using the scissors.
- Glue the sides and pieces of your house together and leave to set.
- Next, poke a hole into the roof of your gingerbread house and add string, so your Christmas decoration can be hung on the tree later.
- Glue the roof onto the body of the house, followed by the small chimney piece.
- Once your house is completed you can decorate as you please.
- We chose to use white paint and add a bright red glitter heart on the front of our house ornament.
- If you’re making these Christmas crafts with preschool or older kids, you may want to provide plenty of different colored paint, and media such as buttons and fabric to encourage the kids to use their imaginations and create their own unique decorations.
- This would be a fun classroom craft for the Christmas season and could even make a fantastic homemade Christmas gift idea.
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