10 Gingerbread House Ideas

For a fantastic centerpiece that will last the entire holiday season, check out these 10 gingerbread house ideas.  A gingerbread house also makes a scrumptious dessert that can be devoured immediately after Christmas dinner.

1. How to make the foundation of a gingerbread house. Use a sturdy base such as a large cookie sheet or two layers of corrugated cardboard. Cover the base with foil. Place the gingerbread house in the center of the base and keep all embellishments, such as trees or fences, in balance around the gingerbread house.
2. How to make edible mortar and glittery snow for a gingerbread house centerpiece. Create stiff frosting out of powdered sugar and a few drops of water. Spread the frosting thickly over the base before adding the gingerbread house to the center. Use generous amounts of frosting to hold the gingerbread pieces together. For added dimension, sprinkle coconut or white granulated sugar over the base to create more realistic snow. Drizzle thin icing on the rooftop and on fence posts.
3. How to erect a gingerbread house. Decorate each side of the house and allow the frosting to harden before you erect the house. This will keep the decorations from sliding off before they set. To keep the house from collapsing, use a cardboard box as an interior frame.
4. How to embellish a gingerbread house. Decorate the gingerbread house with bits of candy and cookies, but do not overwhelm it with embellishments that are too large for the size of the house. Use candy canes or pretzel rods to create a fence, or use peppermint sticks to create a lively peppermint cottage.
5. How to make a small gingerbread house, or an entire village, without using gingerbread. Graham crackers are the perfect size to cover a small milk carton, or the carton from one pound of butter.  Add the decorated graham crackers to the sides, one at a time, and allow the frosting to harden. Follow the same guidelines for the roof. Decorate as desired.
6. How to create a gingerbread A-frame decked out for the holidays. Use full sized graham crackers for the sides and a pie-shaped wedge of gingerbread cake for the middle. Add Christmas candies to the sides or roof of the house and place a Christmas tree or two near the house. Place an edible Christmas wreath on the door before you secure the graham cracker sides to the cake with frosting. Finally, embellish the house with bits of candy.
7. How to make a specialized gingerbread house roof. Spread frosting over the entire roof.  Cover the frosting with dry cereal squares to represent straw or pieces of fruit leather to represent slate.
8. How to make a gingerbread barn. Turn a regular gingerbread house into a barn by covering the house with red frosting. Add white frosting accents. Stand a jelly roll on end beside the barn and cover it with white frosting to create a silo. Secure the silo to the base with frosting.
9. How to make gingerbread farm animals. Use animal shaped cookie cutters. To add color and dimension to the farm animals, use frosting and a piping tip. Animal crackers also work.
10. How to create a gingerbread cathedral or church. Add a steeple and a few well-placed stained glass windows on a gingerbread house. Cut the steeple out of gingerbread and erect it using plenty of frosting as mortar. Make stained glass windows by cutting a circle or square into the piece of gingerbread where the window will be. Pour crushed hard candies into the hole and bake as directed. The candy will melt and create a colored windowpane. Decorate as desired.

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