How to Assemble a Christmas Gingerbread House

Nothing is worse than seeing your Christmas Gingerbread House collapse, after spending hours putting in together. I learned these tricks from a baker who made Gingerbread Houses for a living. Here are the baker's secrets to keep your Christmas gingerbread house from falling apart.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Platter for base
• Gingerbread House Kit or Pieces
• Royal or Miracle Icing
• Candy for Decorating
• Small box, the approximate size and shape of your Gingerbread House
• 1 yard length of string

1. 
   Christmas Gingerbread House

   GATHER MATERIALS - Have all your materials ready and at hand.

2. 
   Christmas Gingerbread House

   CREATE YOUR BASE - Get your base. It can be any sturdy, flat surface, such as a piece of foil-covered cardboard, a platter, whatever. Lay your piece of string across the top of the base.

3. 
   Christmas Gingerbread House

   PLACE - Center the box on top of the string, with the peaked walls running parallel to the string. You can secure the box to the base if you want with a dab of icing or tape, just don't secure the string. You will need to remove it when you are done.

4. 
   Christmas Gingerbread House

   BUILD WALLS - Put some dabs of icing on the sides of the box and ice the corners. This acts like glue and mortar to secure the walls to the box and bind the walls to each other at the corners. Press your walls firmly to the box.

5. 
   Christmas Gingerbread House

   RAISE THE ROOF - Ice the tops edges of the walls to receive the roof pieces. Lay the roof pieces in place on top of the walls. Ice the peak.

6. 
   Christmas Gingerbread House

   TIE IT UP - Bring the ends of the string up and over the roof. Tie it to secure the roof and hold the house together while it dries.

7. 
   Christmas Gingerbread House

   Once the icing is dry, you can remove the string and decorate as desired. If you are unsure of the stability of your house, leave the string on and decorate around it. It will hold your house together until everything is dry and secure.

Tips & Warnings

• See the Articles in my resources list below for some great recipes for a Gingerbread House and Miracle Icing.
• Don't use regular Buttercream Icing, it will never set and your house will fall apart.

Resources

• Miracle Icing

[survivoryea]

on 9/30/2009 Thanks for sharing the secret to keeping that gingerbread house together while the icing dries! I had one fall apart!!

[dlcass]

on 11/30/2008 Thank you to everyone commenting. If you actually try this, please come back and post to let us know how it worked. Thanks, Diane

[bethjess39564]

on 11/29/2008 Wow! #6 is the genuis coming through! 6 stars!

[momandpopoften]

on 11/9/2008 A gingerbread house is such a nice Christmas tradition. Following your how to sounds like a foolproof way to insure that all your good work won't go to waste! Thanks so much!

[veryirie]

on 11/5/2008 I've been wanting to make a gingerbread house for the first time, but I was always afraid of it falling apart; this is a great tip to know!