Make a gingerbread house
Make a gingerbread house using baked or graham cracker walls, icing glue, and candies to design, build, and decorate a sturdy edible holiday structure.
Step-by-step guide to make a gingerbread house
Graham Cracker GINGERBREAD Houses || How to make || Tutorial
Step 1
Wash your hands with soap and water so your gingerbread house stays clean.
Step 2
Place the tray or foil-covered cardboard on the table to make a work surface.
Step 3
Spoon the thick icing into the piping bag or zip-top bag so you can use it as glue.
Step 4
Use scissors to snip a small corner off the bag to make a piping tip.
Step 5
Pipe a thick line of icing along the bottom edge of one wall piece to make glue.
Step 6
Stand that wall upright on the base so it is ready to join other walls.
Step 7
Press the iced bottom edge of the wall onto the base so it sticks firmly.
Step 8
Pipe icing along the side edge of a second wall piece to prepare a joint.
Step 9
Press the second wall against the first wall so the side edges meet.
Step 10
Hold the two walls together gently until the icing begins to set so they stay in place.
Step 11
Pipe icing along the top edges of the assembled walls to make a roof glue line.
Step 12
Place the roof pieces on top of the walls and press gently so the roof sticks.
Step 13
Press candies and decorations onto the icing to design your house how you like.
Step 14
Let your gingerbread house sit undisturbed until the icing is firm and the house is sturdy.
Step 15
Share your finished gingerbread house on DIY.org
Final steps
You're almost there! Complete all the steps, bring your creation to life, post it, and conquer the challenge!
Help!?
What can we use if we don’t have a piping bag or pre-baked gingerbread pieces?
Use a zip-top bag with a small corner snipped (as in step 4) or simply spoon and spread the thick icing, and substitute sturdy graham crackers or large rectangular cookies for the wall and roof pieces.
My walls keep falling over — what should we do during assembly?
If walls fall while you press them together (steps 5–9), pipe thicker icing along the bottom and side edges as glue, hold the pieces until the icing starts to set, and prop the walls with small cans or jars on the tray until firm.
How can I change the activity for younger kids or older kids?
For younger children, have adults pre-assemble the walls and let kids press candies onto the icing and spoon icing from the bag (steps 3, 11–12), while older kids can cut their own templates, pipe decorative trims, and design more complex roofs (steps 4–10, 11).
What are some ways to extend or personalize the gingerbread house?
Personalize it by adding melted candy windows before placing the roof (step 10), sprinkling colored sugar or edible glitter on wet icing (step 11), and creating a candy path or snowy scene on the tray or foil-covered cardboard base (step 2).
Watch videos on how to make a gingerbread house
EASY Gingerbread House Tutorial for beginners - Assembly & Decorating!
4 Videos
EASY Gingerbread House Tutorial for beginners - Assembly & Decorating!
How to Make a Children's Gingerbread House | Allrecipes.com
Gingerbread House | Sally's Baking
Make Your Own Homemade Gingerbread House!
Facts about edible holiday crafts
🎨 Candy choice affects stability — hard candies and pretzels stick and hold better while soft chewy sweets are great for colorful accents but less structural.
🏆 Community teams and bakers have built record-breaking gingerbread structures that weighed tons and needed real planning and scaffolding.
🎄 Gingerbread houses started in Germany in the 1800s and became a Christmas tradition after tales like the Brothers Grimm's Hansel and Gretel made gingerbread famous.
🍪 Graham crackers were created in the early 1800s by Sylvester Graham and are now a popular no-bake shortcut for making gingerbread-style houses.
🍬 Royal icing works as a rock-solid edible glue because it’s made from whipped egg whites (or meringue powder) and powdered sugar that hardens when dry.
How do you make a sturdy gingerbread house step by step?
What materials and tools do I need to make a gingerbread house at home?
What ages is making a gingerbread house suitable for?
What safety precautions should I take when making a gingerbread house with kids?
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