How to Make Gingerbread Houses With Children

Almost everyone loves gingerbread houses at Christmas, especially children. They look difficult to make but are really not. Here are some instructions to make a simple small house children can easily construct and decorate. Use them as decorations or gobble them up with your little helpers.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 1 small (individual serving) cardboard milk carton, emptied and rinsed clean
• royal icing (see eHow article "How to Make Royal Icing for a Gingerbread House")
• gingerbread cookie dough
• disposable plastic plate
• a wide variety of small, colorful candies for decorating

How to Make Gingerbread Houses With Children

1. Use the milk carton to make a pattern for the house. An adult should do this step. Trace the rectangular sides on a sheet of paper. Also trace the front and back, which should go up in a triangular point at the tops. For the roof, trace both sides of the slanted top of the carton, making these rectangular shapes a little longer than the carton to allow for some overhang.

2. Roll the gingerbread dough out on a well floured surface to about 1/8 inch thick.

3. Cut out the pattern pieces and lay them on the rolled dough. Carefully cut around the shapes using a knife. This step should be done by an adult also.

4. Carefully transfer the gingerbread house pieces to a baking sheet and bake following the directions for the gingerbread recipe you are using.
   Allow the pieces to cool.

5. Put a large glob of royal icing on the plastic plate. Using the royal icing as "glue" stick the sides of the house in the icing. Use more icing to apply the front and back of the house to the sides. The icing should be "gluing" the house down to the plate and gluing all the sides together. Don't be afraid to put large globs of the icing on the house to secure it.

6. Use the royal icing to attach the roof pieces to the gingerbread house, securing all seams with the icing. Use a butter knife or a plastic knife to spread the icing along the seams.

7. Cover the unused royal icing and allow the house to sit overnight or at least 2 to 3 hours. This will give the icing in the frame time to harden to secure the gingerbread house.

8. Allow children to use plastic knives to spread icing all over the roof as snow. They can then stick candies on the roof. They can put icing on the backs of candies to "glue" them anywhere they want on the gingerbread house.

Tips & Warnings

• Allow the children to put a layer of icing on the plate outside the house as snow. They can use the candies to make a walkway to the house in the snow.