"Keep The Kids Busy"
GINGERBREAD HOUSE PARTY
Contributed by
Mary Ann Ross and Kimberly Lainson

Whether pre-bought from a local bakery or made fresh in your oven, Gingerbread Houses give your children and teenagers the opportunity to transform your home with wonderful aromas and festive decorations that are oh so good enough to eat.. they love being creative and enjoy it all the more when they can eat their art supplies. From the very simple designs for those busy moms and dads to challenging art project for those artists among us, we've got it all. We've also included some gingerbread recipes for holiday gifts, Hanukkah and potlucks. Let the decorating begin!!!

Not an architect or general contractor?
You don't have to be to make gingerbread houses. Use orange juice and milk cartons and decorate with plain graham crackers, frosting and candies. Shoe boxes and other sturdy boxes are perfect as the structure and by adding a cardboard angled roof and voila, instant house ready to be cemented with a basic white frosting and gingerbread siding.

Too busy to bake?
Ask your local bakery to make you gingerbread "sheets" for walls, roofs and doors. If you feel challenged by this adventure, a local craft stores and mail order catalogues have gingerbread house molds that make it easy to create your building. Don't forget the fabulous Rice Krispies treat recipe, these easily mold to shapes. Put holiday ginger potpourri in your teakettle on a low burner on your stove and it will fill the house with the aromas of the season.

Too busy but want to bake?
Use a gingerbread mix from your grocery store.

Children's Party?
Sure, why not. Make it simple by taking the no-bake alternative and using graham crackers, prepared store-bought frostings, mini candy decorations and milk cartons. Create a one-sided gingerbread house invitations from brown construction paper and trim with buttons, scraps of material, lace trim and write the party details on the back. Prepare a work area by laying down plastic tablecovers and give each child a large white Styrofoam plate as their personal palette. Allow 1 to 1-1/2 hours for decorating and be sure to encourage the children with ideas (see below). Everyone wins an award, such as "most beautiful", "most frosting used", "most holiday decorations", "cleverest", etc. The children will take their artwork home with them, so for refreshments, present each guest with a gingerbread boy or gingerbread girl with their name in frosting on
it or pancakes in the shape of gingerbread boys and girls. Remember to have lots of hot chocolate and whipped cream!

Make a Foundation
Cover your work area with a plastic tablecover or waxed paper for easy clean up. If your house will have an outside (lawn, gardens, etc.), use a large heavy-duty piece of cardboard covered in aluminum foil. For smaller versions, use large Styrofoam white plates. Be sure to use basic white frosting to "cement" your house, trees, lampposts, etc. to the base.

Get Blueprints
A one-room house, Victorian house, chapel, country store, log cabin and a barn building plans are available at theParkWorks. Offer suggestions to the children that a gingerbread house can also be Santa's Workshop, a reindeer barn, Mrs. Claus's kitchen, toy shop or even a replica of your own home. If you live in the big city, then why not make an apartment building using a tall milk container and adding lots of windows.

Gather Building Supplies
Bread sticks (logs, rafters and beams), shredded wheat cereal (thatched roofs), wafer cookies (roofing tiles), mini chocolate candy bars (doors, shutters and shingles), Candy Kisses (church bell and roof decorations), lollipops (road sings), jelly beans (fireplace stones), fruit leathers (window shades), ice cream cones (trees), and candy canes with gumdrops (lamp posts) are just some ideas.

Construction and Finishing Touches
Step by Step instructions are available including instructions for dormers and windows but remember to let the kids have fun. Enjoy the mistakes because it will cause even more creativity that you would ever have imagined! Allow gingerbread structures/frosting to dry overnight so they will be stable.

Landscaping Ideas
Flower cake decorations (garden), gumdrops (bushes), brown sugar (walkways and flowerbeds), pretzel sticks (fence posts), nuts (stones) and rock candy (rocks).

Decorate for Christmas
Use Life Savers (wreaths), Red Hots and M&M candies (Christmas tree balls), white frosting (snow), powdered sugar (frost), melted hard candies (stained glass windows), colored sprinkles (Christmas lights), Fruit Loop cereal (Christmas railings) and marshmallows (snowmen) are some ideas.

Add People and Animals
Animal Crackers (add scarf decorations), Graham Cracker Teddy Bears (decorate in Santa suits), buy ready made from your bakery and for homemade, use cookie cutters or trace stencils onto cardstock and use for pattern on the cookie dough. Using a little blob of frosting, the people and animals will stand up on the base or to the sides of the house.

BASIC GINGERBREAD RECIPE

ROYAL ICING CEMENT ("not" edible):

ALMOST BUTTERCREAM CEMENT (edible):

FONDANT (to make ornaments)
 

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