Photo by Layla Ribot

A gingerbread house built using the tips and tricks shown in this story.

Did you know that the tradition of making gingerbread houses started in Germany, during the early 1800s?   Today, making gingerbread houses is a great way to celebrate the holidays. Every year, my family has a competition to see who can decorate the best gingerbread house. After a couple years of trial and error, I have several tips for how to decorate.

  Here are some quick tips before you start:

• Make sure your icing is at room temperature before using.
• Organize your candy decorations by variations and colors however you see fit.
• Make sure your gingerbread pieces have been left out for a couple of days so they are firm and stiff (if you make them from scratch).
• Have a flattened out cardboard box or cookie sheet to be your base so you can move it and to contain the mess.

 Out of all of those preparations, the most important would have to be making sure the icing isn’t too cold or too hot. There have been times where my icing has melted and became too thin to properly use. Other times it has been too stiff where it came out in clumps instead of a smooth and steady stream. 

Now it is time to build basic structure. It doesn’t matter if you are doing a boxed gingerbread house or one fresh from home. Here are some suggestions when starting your structure, even when using a kit

• Ice your cardboard box or cookie sheet and connect a side and back wall to give more support
• Ice your front wall and then your side
• Ice your roof connecting it with the walls
• Place your roof on the wall and mark where it was with icing, then put the roof on the walls

Of course there are many ways to put together a house, but this is the way I do it. All that matters is that the house is standing and is ready to decorate. Just remember, when you are putting your house together, hold each piece you iced for a little bit so that the icing can harden. 

Finally it’s time to decorate! I personally start with the roof and I love to use gumdrops on the top. I use Oreos to create a chimney and baker pearls to decorate my frosting to look like Christmas lights. Any small candies such as gumdrops, baker pearls, oreos, licorice, skittles, and m&ms work great for additional detail. The best part about making a gingerbread house is to let your creativity shine. It’s wonderful when you’re all done to see your decorations come together to make a colorful piece of art (that is if you don’t eat all the candy before you finish). The best part is that gingerbread houses typically last for several weeks which is perfect for holiday decorating. 

So what are you waiting for? Decorate!