Do you know how to make a super simple gingerbread house?
The elaborate gingerbread houses all over the Food Network this time of year are simply stunning! BUT, who has time for that?!? Whether you want to make gingerbread houses with your students on the last day before winter break, at a class party, or just at home with your own family, this super simple gingerbread house is sure to be a fun holiday memory!
As with most things, we know that something like making gingerbread houses in the classroom this year won’t look the same as it normally would, so we’ve included some COVID friendly modifications at the end of the post!
What supplies do you need to make gingerbread houses?
This gingerbread house really could not be simpler. You will need to have the following items:
- One dessert sized paper plate (per gingerbread house)
- Graham crackers (7 squares per gingerbread house)
- Hot glue gun and glue sticks
- One individual sized milk-carton (per gingerbread house)
- Royal icing (recipe below)
- Various toppings (pretzels, various M&Ms, Necco wafers, Frosted Mini-wheats, etc.)
How to prep and assemble the gingerbread houses:
The first year we made gingerbread houses, I had the students “glue” (royal icing) the graham crackers to the milk cartons. Never again! It took forever and the students found this step very frustrating. There may have been a few tears shed. From that year forward I assembled the gingerbread houses the night before using a hot glue gun. Be careful though, I do have a burn scar on my forearm from this many years ago!
Some years, our grade level teachers stayed after school together to cut and glue the graham crackers assembly line style. We have some great memories involving those nights! The only way I have found to cut graham crackers efficiently is by using an electric knife. The electric knife also helps cut down on graham cracker waste since it cuts them so cleanly. There are several online sites where you can see how to assemble the houses. One difference I noticed is that we always cut a square into two triangles for the eaves of the house. We also hot glue the house to a small paper plate. There are always plenty of cute winter designs to choose from, and it makes for a cleaner gingerbread experience! When the students arrive that day their house is ready to be decorated!
Each student needs:
- Their house glued to a plate
- Small cup of icing
- A craft stick to spread the frosting
- Small bowl for the candy (for eating and decorating!)
*You will want to make your icing ahead of time as well! We use this royal icing recipe! When making royal icing for the whole class, we used a dozen eggs and adjusted the recipe accordingly.
We ask each student to bring one bag of candy. Suggestions are given in a letter to the parents. The candy then becomes “community property.” In other words, we share. It’s great to have some parents help with this event. We ask them to collect, sort, and organize the goodies. They also cover the students tables/desks in red and green butcher paper, which makes for a quick and easy clean up! We always remind our students to only take what they need and to be mindful of others.
Decorating tips:
Show your students several examples of gingerbread houses. Explain to the students that most of the houses use a pattern when decorating. We have our students fill in all the spaces where two crackers meet before adding any candy. Also point out to the students that while they can eat the candy, the primary purpose is to make a gingerbread house. They will probably ask if they can eat the frosting. I tell them what is in the frosting and they quickly decide that that is not a good idea.
How can I make gingerbread houses COVID friendly?
I know at our school visitors are not allowed. Therefore, most of the prep falls to you.
- Instead of having students go through a line to get their goodies, make the plates for the students. The mantra “you get what you get and don’t throw a fit” applies here.
- Make sure students do not share any candy or other supplies.
- Use an alternative milk carton like this instead of used milk cartons. We ordered these to use for our family gingerbread houses this year. The graham crakers don’t fit on them quite the same as a regular milk carton, but after filling in the gaps with icing, they will work perfectly for our needs!
How do you assemble the paper milk cartons?
Tip: Crease all folds before beginning to assemble the carton!
Remember that the first one will take the longest as you’re getting use to putting the carton together. After that, you’ll get much faster!
