How to Build a Gingerbread House

The holiday season is here and gingerbread house-building competitions may be in your near future. Whether baking your walls yourself or using cookies premade in the box, getting creative with your house is a fun activity for everyone to enjoy.

First, you have to assemble your house. For a strong foundation, try erecting the walls first using royal icing and let it completely dry and harden — possibly overnight — before trying to attach the roof. Adding the roof too early can cause your house to collapse.

Once your house is completely put together comes the fun of decorating. Think outside of the box with what you use to make your house unique. Use pretzel rods on the sides to create a log cabin, shredded wheat cereal for a thatched roof, cinnamon gum for bricks, vanilla wafers for tiles, melted lifesavers for stained glass windows, cotton candy for smoke coming out of the chimney, broken pieces of leftover cookie for stone, mini sugar cones for trees and powdered sugar for snow.

Lastly, enjoy your creation. If you plan to eat your gingerbread house or want to display it for your holiday parties, make sure to keep it in a cool, dry place. Heat will cause the candies and icing to melt and any humidity in the air can make the gingerbread soft, causing it to fall apart.