Gingerbread Houses

A fun thing to do during the holidays is making gingerbread houses! Yes- I know I am Jewish but making a gingerbread house doesn't have to be religious. They are fun and are so easy! I had no idea until this year.

 If you don't want to make a gingerbread house because you don't want to have to buy all the candy and goodies, I found the most perfect kit at K-Mart. It is a gingerbread cookie kit. It is a no bake project. It comes with already baked and packaged cookies. It also comes with the candy decorations. The only thing you need to do is make the icing. If you're not up for that challenge, you can buy icing from the grocery store. I did it with my Junior Kindergarten class and they loved it! Some of them didn't want to eat them, but only decorate them because it was so much fun. Here is what the kit looks like, but please excuse my gingerbread's broken leg. I dropped him in the package on the kitchen floor.

Okay, so if you're ready for making gingerbread houses here is an easy way to do it:

1. Buy a regular box of Graham Crackers

2. Get some candy. The best candy for making gingerbread houses are: m&m's, gum drops, Hershey kisses, marshmallows, candy canes, Hershey's bars, etc.

3. Regular icing not whipped.

4. Take a milk or juice carton and cut off the top and wash it out.

The first thing to do is cover the top of the carton with a thin layer of icing. If you are doing it with a bunch of kids or students, give them each their own bowl of icing with a plastic knife. Kids tend to lick the icing and double dip! :) After the first layer of icing is on, break apart the graham crackers and stick them to the milk carton. Then carefully put another layer of icing and start decorating with candy. If you put two small candy canes together they make a heart! The Hershey's chocolate bars look great as doors and windows. The marshmallows look spectacular as snow. The gingerbread house is a great table decoration for the holidays! Enjoy!