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Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Building a Gingerbread House—A Fun Activity with the Kids for the Holiday Season

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I don’t recall ever building a Gingerbread House myself when I was a kid, period.  If my memory serves me right, seeing one exhibited in a restaurant or hotel during the holiday season was the closest encounter I had with a Gingerbread House.  That is, until last weekend.  Yeah, I built a Gingerbread House with my kids, with the help of this kit below.  No, this is NOT a sponsored post.  But I had so much fun building the Gingerbread House with my kids that the entire process made me want to share this wonderful product and experience with you.  I got this kit from Bed Bath and Beyond for $9.99.  What a wonderful deal to build memories together with the kids, right?
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This kit included everything you see from the picture below.   The Gingerbread cookies, the candies, the icing (as decoration and “glue”) and the plastic tray that you build the house on.  Those who know me well probably know I’m not a crafty person.  But with the help of this kit, it’s almost foolproof.  The only thing I didn’t like was the icing/icing bag.  After I cut 1/4-inch of the corning of the bag (suggested by the instruction on the box) to glue the edges of the house, the cut was way too big for a neat/clean decoration.  Other than that, this was a wonderful kit to have fun with the kiddos.  It kept us busy for the whole morning.

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The picture below shows you the back of the box.  It tells you what are included in the kit, simple step by step instructions on how to build the structure, and decorating ideas.

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Pay attention to the picture below, as I was laying out my ingredients on a sheet tray as suggested by the instruction, my kids were “fighting” for the box at the background!  LOL…They both wanted to read the instructions for their Mama as they know she doesn’t read instructions that well.  Smile with tongue out

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Once all the sides of the wall were on, up next was the roof.

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When all the structural pieces were glued on, we needed to wait 15 minutes for the icing/glue to dry before we can start decorating.  While we were waiting, my big boy and baby girl got too bored…they said the house smells really delicious and wanted to give it a taste test, literally!  Smile with tongue out  Good I didn’t let that happen.  But it was close!  hahaha...what can I say, like Mother like Son/Daughter, they sure are little foodies and want to taste test everything.

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Finally, the wait was over and let’s get the fun begin, shall we?!  Smile My baby girl always say “lady first, lady first…” (referring to herself) whenever she wanted to cut in line, in front of her brother.  Luckily, my big boy is such a gentleman and almost always let his sister go first. 

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Now, it’s the gentleman’s turn.  Smile

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Okay, it’s more fun to do it together.  So, they both started going at it.

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I think we did a pretty good job as first timers, right?  What do you think?



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By the way, the kit came with a gingerbread tree, gingerbread man and a gingerbread snowman.  But they were quite big, in ratio, when compared to the house; the slots to place them in were too closed to the house and would block the decorations.  So I used some candy penguins I had (originally purchased for another holiday project I had in mind).  They fitted right in (see the picture below).  Smile 


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So, this Gingerbread house will be "on display" until Christmas.  I might take pictures during the demolition process, if I remember (and not too busy eating candies and cookies).   I had so much fun with the kids building this adorable Gingerbread House together. 

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you all are having fun with your kids (or Grandkids) doing craft projects or preparing favorite recipes together.


© 2011 uTry.it



31 comments:

  1. Stunning! It's beautiful and cute and very impressive.
    wonderful post

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  2. @ Winnie: Thank you for your sweet comment. :)

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  3. beautiful! wonderful idea for the festive season and makes a great gift too!

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  4. @ Fong's Kitchen: Thank you. Oh yes, it'll be a nice gift for this season. :)

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  5. Looks great! I have some of my daughter's friends coming over next week and all the girls will make their own houses, it'll be a lot of fun!

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  6. Oh, this turned out perfectly! I've tried making a gingerbread house several times and I can't get it to stay up. Oh, well . . . come check out my gingerbread ornaments on my Christmas tree. New follower!

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  7. We have done this every year since my kids were little. My 16 year old still loves it. Fun times.

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  8. One of those store bought kits is the closest I've come to making a "real" gingerbread house too. I know a lot of people think it isn't "real" unless you bake it yourself, but in my mind the fun party is decorating and eating, which I get to do the the kits.

    Looks like you have to little food stylists in the making. So funny about them helping you read the instructions. My mom isn't big on reading instructions, so I've always done that for her.

    Your little house is adorable, and I'm sure the kids love it because they helped make it with you.

    Thank you so much for linking this up to my gingerbread party!

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  9. @Amy: Thank you. Yes, it's such a fun project for the kiddos. I'm sure your daughters and her friends will have a blast!

    @ Nicole: Thank you. I'll check out your ornament right after this.

    @CarolinaHeartStrings: Oh yeah, this is so much fun. I would definitely do it again next year.

    @Cozy Home Scenes: Couldn't agree more, the fun part is the decorating and eating. :) My kiddos are definitely good at decorating the house. :) It was so much fun and we had a blast! Thank you for hosting the gingerbread party and giveaway!

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  10. I used to cut out the shapes from gingerbread cookie dough and bake them, then assemble it with royal icing. Why didn't I think of creating a kit and selling it! There is no virtue in spending more time than necessary on a gingerbread house, and the kids appreciate a kit just as much. What fun for them! When our grandkids came to visit, we had a gingerbread house (someone else had assembled) sitting on the dresser in their room. They were THRILLED! :-)

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  11. very creative! I have to do this with my daughter
    http://momdaughterstyle.blogspot.com/

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  12. Que de travail mais le résultat est délicieux
    Je te souhaite une belle journée, ici que de pluie
    Valérie.

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  13. @Cranberry Morning: Oh yes, I would definitely buy them from you than the packaged ones. :) It's so much fun for the kids...and adults with the kids at heart.

    @Mom Daughter Style: Oh yeah, she'll love it.

    @Valerie: Merci pour votre commentaire. Je vous souhaite le soleil, mon ami.

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  14. Very cute! The only time I tried to make one, it was a complete disaster! After reading how easy this one was and seeing how much your kids enjoyed decorating, maybe I'll try it again, because my son has been begging me to.

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  15. Adorable! Love those little, helping hands ;)

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  16. @Monica: Yeah, this one was super easy to assemble. I'm sure your son would love it, too.

    @Savoring Time in the Kitchen: Thank you. Oh yes, I love it when they help out and join me in the kitchen. :)

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  17. We made our first gingerbread house last year with a kit like that. It was so much fun! I bet you and your kids had a great time!

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  18. I have not made a gingerbread house in YEARS!! Now I cannot wait to have grandchildren, I love all those little hands helping And I love the tasting picture, how adorable!!!

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  19. @ Tina: Yes, my kiddos had a blast making and decorating the Gingerbread House. :)

    @ The Saucy Gourmet: Yes,I had as much fun as my kids. :) Thanks for your sweet comment.

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  20. I've always wanted to make one! Looks like more fun at your house though! Happy holidays! ♥

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  21. @ Lavender Dreamer: Thank you. We always have fun at our house...I think that's because the Mama is as silly as the kids! LOL

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  22. Think I will buy one of these to decorate with my Granddaughter next week. Great job.

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  23. @ Penny: Thanks. Oh yeah, I'm sure you and your Grand-daughter will have lots of fun together. :)

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  24. Your gingerbread house looks great! And this kit makes it look so easy! (Yet somehow I think I could find a way to mess it up. lol.)

    I actually created a board on pinterest just for gingerbread stuff! Looks like I found another addition!

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  25. @Jerri: Thanks. No, it's quite impossible to mess this up. I'm not a crafty person and it was only our first time building one. :) I'm going to check out your pinterest board now. Thanks for letting me know.

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  26. I've never made a gingerbread house before, you did a good job! Pat

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  27. I just made an almost-identical gingerbread house with our 4-year-old granddaughter today, and it was so fun (but truth be told, she was more interested in eating the candy than decorating...:) ). These kits are amazing! I bought ours at Aldi for $6 or $7--best money I've ever spent! I put it all together last night and did the base icing, then let her do the decorating. Your little ones did a great job!

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  28. @Zuni: Isn't it amazing. I couldn't agree more that these few bucks are the best money I've ever spent. I totally feel the same. Somehow, my kids weren't too into the candies. My son tried a piece and he said it's tasteless. LOL... Thanks for visiting my blog and your sweet comment. Hope you'll be back soon. Wish you and your loved ones a wonderful holiday.

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  29. It comes with a gingerbread man and a gingerbread snowman, but NO gingerbread woman??? What's up with that? ;)

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  30. @ Carolyn: hahaha...I didn't even think of that. I'll just use some pink icing and turn gingerbread man into a lady, just for you. :D

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