How to build a gingerbread house in 5 simple steps

Noah woke up the other morning and exclaimed, “It smells like Christmas!” He made a good point – our made-from-scratch gingerbread house doubles both as holiday decor and a delightful air freshener of cinnamon candy and spices.

This week I’m bringing you a new tutorial for kids in the kitchen. It’s called The After School Gingerbread Project: 5 simple steps. 2 happy kids. 1 edible house.

Constructing a gingerbread house from scratch is an activity my children look forward to all year. This Christmas, I decided to let them do it all by themselves. They had supervision, of course, but I was behind the camera 99% of the time. They did a great job! It was thrilling to see how much pride they took in their handiwork.

We broke the after school gingerbread project down into five steps that can each be done in under 30 minutes.

The after school gingerbread project: 5 simple steps. 2 happy kids. 1 edible house.

The steps can be completed after school or after dinner. Here’s how they are broken down:

Today: Introduction to the project.
Day 1: List of ingredients and equipment.
Day 2: Make and chill the dough.
Day 3: Cut and bake the pieces.
Day 4: Prepare Royal Icing + assemble the base.
Day 5: Decorate!

You may want to make two or more houses  depending on how many children will be joining it. I decided I wanted my boys to work together on one as they can always benefit from learning how to work together in peace and harmony.

They did a great job! I can’t wait to get this tutorial started. UPDATE: It is complete and LIVE!

It is sure to be an activity your children will look forward to it each day.

Tune in tomorrow for the after school gingerbread project!

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15 Comments

  1. Aimee, I’m excited to follow this tutorial. I am developing an After-School Cooking Club and this is exactly the kind of project I need. Thanks, looks good.

  2. I wish my niece lived closer, she would absolutely love this. She is turning into quite a little baker 🙂
    I Can’t wait to follow this tutorial!
    Thanks again!
    M.

  3. This is brilliant! Love the inspiration. I’ve been on the fence about a gingerbread house, my girls just end up eating the candy but this may be a sweet (ha, ha!) project to do with my three year old while the little sister naps. =)

  4. We have so many happy memories of making gingerbread houses as a family! Same thing, from scratch. With a large family, the oldest ones helped the little ones with ideas and construction. They all still love spending an evening together “gluing” on gobs of candy, whoever can make it over–often it’s Christmas Eve before church. Some years we’ve made it a contest, and they all vote for the best house. So fun! A great idea–make extra pieces of the gingerbread and make a kit with the candy and frosting bagged up to give a visiting child/children.

  5. I absolutely adore this project! Thank you so very much for sharing it. It has become a tradition in our home to buy the ingredients, buy the candies, and then follow the plans every year at ChristmasTime. It has been just me for a little while, but then my husband and I had another baby AND our oldest had her children! So now I have three littles, and one teen, to help me make gingerbread houses! I share this project with EVERYONE who even hints at an interest in gingerbread houses. Thank you for al of the wonderful, cherished memories. ♥️