Explain gingerbread houses to me

[naturally]

We have never done a gingerbread house. We don't like gingerbread. What's the purpose beside having fun making a mess? Do you eat it? How soon do you eat it? Is it still good? I've just never understood them. :o

I'm just wondering if it's an experience my boys would like if we wouldn't eat it. But then it's an expense I don't need to try to afford right now.

[Whereneverever]

If you don't like gingerbread you can substitute graham crackers!

[Stacia]

If it's not something you want to eat anyway, but still want the fun/mess, use small boxes or cartons instead (small milk cartons make cute tiny houses), cover w/ icing & candy. Cute to look at/display during the season, then toss.

 

 

[Starr]

You can make them with graham crackers and royal icing. Cheap, fun and edible!

[Janie Grace]

I think of it as more of a decoration that you snack on AS you're making it. Once it has been displayed for a while, it gets stale and nasty. Granted, the kids will still eat some of the candy off it before it gets thrown out...

 

[Elfknitter.#]

Another non-edible suggestion- foam kits at Michael's .

[Ripley]

 

The purpose is to make a mess and memories. Eating is unnecessary - and even discouraged - once it's built. It can be a creative outlet, a contest, a way to pass a snow day, and an excuse to snack on gross candies.

 

My in-laws HOA sponsors a contest every year.  Every year my kids and their cousins gather at my MIL's for an afternoon of gingerbread house building. The houses are displayed at the rec center for a week, are voted on, then they come home where they remain on display at my MIL's through Christmas.

 

There's really no point to them. LOL  My kids love the experience because it's a family tradition; if they hadn't ever done it, I don't think they'd miss it.  If it's an iffy expense this year, this is one of those things that is personality-dependent moreso than age-dependent (as far as how enjoyable it will/can be) - it can wait, they're not likely to outgrow it the way they might be some other holiday experiences.

 

And it doesn't have to be limited to Christmas and gingerbread.  About 1-2 times a year on monsoon days my mom would bake us each a cake and ice it plain. Then she'd break out all of her sprinkles, colors, dyes, nibs, fancy icing tools and whatnot and let us decorate.  :)

[lovinmomma]

I really don't know the answers to your questions. I do know that one year back a couple of years ago we were given a kit and on a whim decided to put it together. Now every year the kids demand to make one. They just enjoy the time together and creating something out of candy and icing. :) We don't eat it afterwards, but the kids enjoy eating as they build.

[Dandelion]

Like Ripley said, the purpose is mess and memories!  Fun to make, but we've never eaten ours.  

[Incognito]

I've been part of groups doing "healthier" houses too - dried fruit, pretzels, chex (good roofing tiles), along with candy. 

 

It's just fun and can be creative and yummy. 

 

Now you have me wanting to do some with the kids this year...

[Tammi K]

The method behind gingerbread madness:

1) Purchase excessive amounts of candy (twice as much as needed because 1/2 will never make it to the house)

2) Mix a double batch of gingerbread (or similar) to make your house. (eat at least 1/2 of the cookie dough prior to baking)

3) Glue baked pieces together with a thick, sticky paste made of copious amounts of confectioner's sugar. (probably should mix a double batch....)

4) Open every bag of candy. Tear many of the bags down the side so candy flies all over the kitchen. Have children pick up candy reminding them to dust it off before eating. Smile benignly when they point out that the bag is torn so they better help out by eating all the candy!

5) Use remaining sugar glue to affix remaining candy to house. (Eat even more candy) Let dry.

6) Display creation in a prominent location being aware of the need to disguise the areas where candy has been picked clean by ravenous children.

7) On Christmas day, allow small children to smash gingerbread house and consume any remaining candy while simultaneously chewing up and spitting out the obviously stale cookie.

8) Bask in the glow of memories made :001_rolleyes:

[Anne]

We make them every year.  We never eat them - yuck!   that royal icing stuff is bleeccchh!     Some of the candy we use to decorate is often eaten during the construction process, but then we mostly leave it alone.

 

Anne

[m0mmaBuck]

We have fun making them. I usually buy a kit that makes a little village and we spend an afternoon listening to Christmas music while we put it together. We all have fun doing it. It's a nice tradition.

[tammyw]

For us, it's become tradition. Every year we decorate them. But we do buy the pre-made kits, and then buy extra candy. It's just fun!

[gardenmom5]

making the mess is fun.

eating them is fun too - especially since you're breaking them apart. (I will never bite down on those ball things in the Costco gingerbread house kit again. I broke a tooth - and ended up needing a crown, and another crown replaced!)

Costco has kits for $10. 

 

gingerbread is quite shelf stable.

 

they started when people make Christmas tree decorations every year themselves.  gingerbread was something that could be cut into shapes and would last on the tree.

[milovany]

I just saw this on Pioneer Woman -- this looks funner to me than actual houses.  :)

[unsinkable]

making the mess is fun.

eating them is fun too - especially since you're breaking them apart. (I will never bite down on those ball things in the Costco gingerbread house kit again. I broke a tooth - and ended up needing a crown, and another crown replaced!)

Costco has kits for $10.

 

gingerbread is quite shelf stable.

 

they started when people make Christmas tree decorations every year themselves. gingerbread was something that could be cut into shapes and would last on the tree.

You poor thing with your tooth!

[Garga]

How we make our gingerbread houses:

 

1. A piece of cardboard covered with al foil. Like a pizza lid.

2. A box of graham crackers.

3. Two cans of frosting.

4. Cream of tartar

5. All the leftover Halloween candy.

 

Stir a teaspoon or two of the cream of tartar into the frosting. Let it sit for a few minutes. It'll make the frosting thicker.

 

On the cardboard, make a house shape out of the graham crackers using some of the frosting as glue. You'll have to use your fingers and the house will be lopsided and funny looking. S'ok. Try to make a peaked roof if you can.

 

Using your fingers cover the house with heaps and heaps of frosting. Cover the foil around the house with heaps and heaps of frosting. That'll be the yard. You can decorate the yard, too. We like to use Halloween pretzels as fences for the yard.

 

Place a piece of candy on the house. Place a piece of candy in your mouth. Repeat until all the house is covered, until all the candy is gone, until someone pukes, or all three. Note: smarties make excellent roof shingles. Take a picture.

 

Display the house proudly next to your answering machine. Every time you listen to a message, break off a tiny piece of frosting from the house and eat it. (This is for adults only.) You can do this for a few weeks.

 

After Christmas, when the kids aren't looking, toss it all in a trashbag.

[unsinkable]

LOL, Garga!

[Mommy22alyns]

I've never done one because I never "got it" either.  I'm always afraid that it'll fall all apart and just be a big mess.  Maybe I should get a kit and we'll just eat our way through the mess!

[Paige]

My kids love gingerbread houses! I do it for them because they like it so much. We make our own and they like to create the patterns and we see whose pattern works out the best. They do eat them. I think it is disgusting but it won't kill them. Once, we couldn't get the house to stand without glue, so we didn't eat that one! We usually make them the week of Christmas and they eat them shortly after so it isn't quite as disgusting as one sitting around for a month.

 

I made some as a kid but didn't really like it much. I was never the type to like crafty/decorative things. We always used a kit which is much easier, but also grosser, IMO. It's better if the gingerbread isn't hard as a rock and the candy is stuff you've picked out yourself.

[ThatHomeschoolDad]

There's a local competition with entries ranging from Brownie troop projects to serious adult constructions that were obviously planned the previous year.  I would not consider any of those on display to be that edible.  My thing with gingerbread is that it always poofs up when I bake it, completely frustrating my inner engineer when the walls don't fit together! 

[Loowit]

I always wanted to do them as a child, but my mom hated messes.

 

I did them a few years with my kids when they were younger, but my youngest has a food dye allergy to Red 40 and a peanut allergy so we are very limited to what candies we can use.  We hadn't done them in years until my MIL came up with a cute idea.  She bought sugar cubes and they made "ice" houses using royal icing for the glue.  Then she bought the expensive natural dye peanut free candies so that youngest could make one too.  It was a fun thing that they loved and it creates some fun memories for all of us.

[twoxcell]

The point is to be creative and make a mess. You can snack while you make or after if you want. The kids love making them so we usually buy the kits or make them out of graham crackers. The best way to do them is at a gathering or party. We have also made candy Nativities before, which is really fun if you are of the religious persuasion. This is where I got the idea.

[twoxcell]

 

I've never done one because I never "got it" either.  I'm always afraid that it'll fall all apart and just be a big mess.  Maybe I should get a kit and we'll just eat our way through the mess!

You should. I like the kit Wilton sells that has 4 mini houses instead of one big one. Each of my kids gets to make their own that way without spending a fortune. I usually get them on sale at Michaels or use a coupon. You can also buy them on clearance after Christmas and make them. We have done that a few times too.

[twoxcell]

Oh and don't forget to read the Gingerbread man or our favorite is Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett.

[Word Nerd]

We've made them before but didn't eat them. We also tried decorating Christmas trees made out of upside-down sugar cones, but the frosting wasn't thick enough so all the candy decorations slid off.

[Jann in TX]

We have a gingerbread house making party every year.

 

I make the gingerbread houses (I make my own patterns but they average about 6 inches in each dimention).  I put very little if any ginger in the cookie dough (my kids do not like ginger)--so I add extra cinnamon.  Last year I made a few gingerbread bird houses-- they were a hit!

 

I make a big batch of royal icing (with powdered egg whites so it is edible).  If it is the correct consistency it will NOT break a tooth when dry!

 

Each person attending brings 1-2 bags of a favorite candy.  I, of course fill in with my favorites... Necco wafers for roof tiles, chocolate covered sunflowerseeds for Christmas lights...

 

I cut 'bases' for each house out of heavy cardboard or wood and cover with foil (taped underneath).

 

Houses are baked a few days before the party-- do not bake on a baking stone-- you WANT the cookie to dry out.  The night before I will use icing to glue the houses together and to attach them to the bases.

 

Candy is arranged in bowls on a table.  Each person has their own dish of icing and a plastic knife... I have decorating bags available for the more advanced decorators.

 

I FEED the kids first-- this is IMPORTANT or they will be very ill before they finish their houses!  I offer veggies and fruit to munch on during the decorating process-- surprising how after a few handfuls of candy the carrots begin to disappear!

 

We take LOTS of pictures of the completed village...

Most nibble on their houses-- some eat the whole thing. 

[J-rap]

For some reason gingerbread houses have become kind of a Christmasy tradition, although I'm not sure why.  I don't think they're meant to eat!  Just to have fun building, and to celebrate a Christmas tradition.  I think we have gotten kits at Walmart for less than $10.00.  I'm sure of it in fact, because I wouldn't have spent any more than that.  The kids had fun making it and we'd keep it up for a couple weeks and then destroy it.  :)

[Ottakee]

If you really arent' sure just stop at Walmart, Target, craft store, etc. the day or so after Christmas and pick up a kit for 50-75% off and give it a try.

[myfunnybunch]

We use ours as Christmas decorations.

 

We usually eat one shortly after we make them, but if that was the reason for making the gingerbread houses, I'd be better off handing the kids a bowl of sugar and a spoon and be done with it. :P We found a gingerbread recipe that we like, so we make gingerbread men with the extra dough, and eat those.

 

We make them because it's a fun family tradition, and because it gives our exchange students a fun Christmas experience.

 

Cat

[Annie G]

Walmart has a kit that has four small houses and all the icing and candy you need to assemble/decorate them.  I use this kit when the grandkids visit so each can make a house...and their parents can make one, too, which seems to eliminate their need to 'help' the kids make theirs perfect. 

 

The kit is $7.98, which is a bargain! This is SO much easier than when my kids were little and we made out own gingerbread from scratch and made our own royal icing. The kids just really want to have fun and they never found the baking part fun. But yours might!

[Barb_]

In our house Claude Gingerbread and his wife always move in a day or two after the house is finished. The little ones leave a sugar cube or lump of brown sugar on the stoop to be sure they show up. Once he moves in, he leaves teeny, tiny letters printed in elegant script telling the younger ones of his family and their adventures. The older ones started it for the younger ones years ago and the younger ones are doing it for the babies now. He always moves out Christmas Day and leaves them cookies or candies as a parting gift until next year.

[Paige]

My thing with gingerbread is that it always poofs up when I bake it, completely frustrating my inner engineer when the walls don't fit together!

The trick is to put your pattern on top of the cooked gingerbread right after it comes out of the oven and then trim off the excess that has poofed right away. You can eat the trimmings if you used a yummy recipe. My kids love those. It's much better fresh and warm.

[lovinmomma]

In our house Claude Gingerbread and his wife always move in a day or two after the house is finished. The little ones leave a sugar cube or lump of brown sugar on the stoop to be sure they show up. Once he moves in, he leaves teeny, tiny letters printed in elegant script telling the younger ones of his family and their adventures. The older ones started it for the younger ones years ago and the younger ones are doing it for the babies now. He always moves out Christmas Day and leaves them cookies or candies as a parting gift until next year.

 

Cute idea!

[Murphy101]

It's a really fun crafty thing to do, to design and decorate. Especially if you decide to not use many candies. It's not much different than buying or crafting any holiday decoration I suppose. Technically, it's all a waste of money, but it is also enjoyable to have those decorating traditions.

 

You could also make mini ones to reduce the waste and the mess.

 

I personally have always thought they were a silly waste, but my daughter is really getting into cake decorating and has decided this would be an awesome medium to for the season too. Go look up some online. (I heart Pinterest!) there's some really fabulous not yucky ideas out there.

 

For example, you could use hot toffee instead of royal icing (I don't like icing in general, so that was exciting!) and it dries somewhat quick and harder than icing and it doesn't go nasty as quick.

 

Some are downright works of art.