Holiday Traditions: Gingerbread Houses

Many families love gingerbread houses as creating them are a great way to bond. Families enjoy working on gingerbread houses, from mixing the batter and backing the pieces to whipping up the frosting for the kids to use in construction. You will enjoy creating a unique gingerbread house more, as everyone can think and share new ideas and designs.

Everyone can be involved in making a gingerbread house as it can be a great family event. It is also great to share this family tradition with good friends and neighbors. Each family may have their own gingerbread house to assemble and decorate and each child gets a gingerbread cookie too. Mini houses may be challenging as they're difficult to assemble and the smaller kids don't understand why their house is smaller than their big brother or sister's house.

Tips for a Great Gingerbread Party

If you live near family, it is ideal to invite everyone over in early December so that you can share schemes and plan the rest of the holidays in a relaxed atmosphere. If you don't have your family nearby then consider inviting neighbors and letting each child invite one or two of their friends.

• Invite guests 1 to 2 weeks ahead of time. Each family should share at least 2 bags of candy to supply to the house decorations and be prepared to offer suggestions.

• Bake ahead of time. Make the gingerbread house parts ahead of time. It's recommended to also bake spare parts just in case a piece gets dropped or cracks while under construction. Children like to have a few pieces as a backup if they get frustrated during assembly.

• Cover large cardboard pieces with aluminum foil, to provide a platform for each gingerbread house. Don't be surprised at the landscaping which includes trees, snowmen and ponds for skating.

• Bake gingerbread cookies. Children will be happy if they have their own gingerbread decorate. Prepare these cookies in advance to avoid the usual sibling squabbles.

• Put a drop cloth on the floor underneath the house construction area.

• Prepare many small bowls for the candies to avoid children reaching in front of others who are busy working.

• Prepare the icing 30 to 60 minutes before your guests arrive. The icing will be the glue (mortar) to hold the house pieces together and for decorating too.

• Use small plastic storage containers for the icing or cover bowls with plastic wrap to stop the icing from drying out, as then it gets hard and you can't use it. Each house should get its own bowl of icing.

• Parents should assist children build their houses. Someone must hold the pieces in place as it takes a few minutes for the icing to harden. Don't worry when a piece falls down - just put some more glue on and start the hardening process over.

• When the house is completely built, it's time to start decorating … and that's the part the kids love. Children may eat lots of candies at this time and they may even feel that decorating a gingerbread house / cookies is like a contest to show who can put more candy on their house.

• It is easy to spread the icing by using plastic knives or popsicle sticks and it also saves time when you're cleaning up the sticky mess.

• Lastly, don't forget to play Christmas music while you're decorating and have a wonderful time!

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