Inflatable Gingerbread House for 2014

Animatronics inflatable gingerbread house Christmas decoration!
What a fun way to dress up your yard before you make your holiday houses!

My dogs would tear up any inflatable outdoor decorations, but this gingerbread house is pretty fun. It would go beautifully in my 60+ tree yard, that's for sure. If you love gingerbread, then it doesn't just restrict itself to making gingerbread houses for the kids in your life. It oozes into decorating and celebrating, and this inflatable gingerbread house would work beautifully for many fellow foodies.

You might also want to consider adding a gingerbread family to the scene with this cute ensemble!

Royal Icing Alternatives for Gingerbread Houses

Now that Christmas has passed, it's time to share my latest discovery in gingerbread architecture!  This is a fantastic alternative to royal icing, providing quicker setup and the ability  to re-use hardened confectionary cement!

Almond bark has been used in holiday baking, treat making and candy making for a long time, but it's taken me 20+ years of gingerbread house making to think of it as a cement.  It's relatively easy to use, and it solves the problem of raw egg whites for those who are worried about salmonella.  I've never had anyone in our house get sick from royal icing, but some people don't want to take the chance.  Having had salmonella issues in other situations, I don't blame anyone for their concerns.

To use almond bark as a gingerbread house icing, you will need to melt your product first.  Cut it into chunks, and use the microwave for easy results.  Two key factors:  a) short heating spurts and b) regular stirring.  You will use 30 second increments of heating, stopping to stir if possible in between.  The first couple of spurts may not allow for much stirring, but it won't take long before you have a liquid product.  Don't overdo it because you can burn your almond bark.

I use a dipping approach to assemble my pieces because I usually work on several houses at a time.  You'll see in the image above that I don't stress about neat and tidy edges, but I love that with almond bark, neat and tidy is possible.

I begin my assembly by spreading my icing product on foil.  With almond bark, this is a great starting point for holding your house in place.  The timing on the setup is much quicker than with royal icing.  I normally assemble my walls, using a slight tilt to avoid slipping.  You'll notice gaps in my house pieces, a normal issue because I bake en masse and don't worry about neat and tidy for the kids.  You'll find that if you check out my gingerbread recipe book for techniques that there are better baking options for more precise results.

I completed this house at the same time I worked on more than 10 houses with royal icing.  I waited at least 30 minutes on the royal icing ones before adding roof pieces, but this one set up well within just a few minutes.  You can evaluate progress by testing the icing on the foil...when it doesn't indent to the touch, you are looking at a good set.

When I add roof pieces, I cover the sides that won't show with a liberal layer of icing.  I did the same with my almond bark.

You'll notice gaps during assembly of roof parts in the image above.  Some almond bark in a tube is useful for filling gaps.  However, when the material is very hot, it is also quite fluid.  Allow it to cool a bit for a thicker flow.  You don't have to fill those gaps completely because they won't be visible when the house is completely assembled.  However, some points of contact are important for a good setup.  Hold those pieces in place for a couple of minutes if necessary, and you'll have enough of a set to let go.

Decorating is really nice with almond bark.  I use plastic storage bags for easy work on a mass basis, and I would recommend the freezer type of bag just because the plastic is more durable.  Cut a small hole at a corner for allowing icing to flow out.  You can ice the back of a candy before mounting it.  Mounting to a vertical surface requires just a minute or two of pressure for your almond bark to set.  This is much nicer than a royal icing mount on a vertical surface as such candies tend to slip even several minutes after placement.

Vertical candy placement on a gingerbread house assembled with almond bark.

It's important to note that drizzly almond bark can interfere with your decorating precision, as viewed in the house at the top of this article.  Use caution if you want your house to be neat and tidy.

Almond bark gingerbread house icing provides great effects.

I really like the fact that you can layer features like icicles, and I love the dainty icicles that developed when I drizzled almond bark at my roof edges.  You'll notice these layers in the image shown here.

One of the big bonuses with almond bark icing on our gingerbread house is the fact that the eating part, the favorite angle for the kids, is easy.  No hammers necessary to pull mounted candies from the house or base.  Also, the almond bark has a great flavor.

Notes:  Almond bark is more of a cream color, and you won't have the pristine white that you can achieve with royal icing.  You may be able to find a more white candy melt or almond bark product.  Also, the dribbles from almond bark may need some quick smoothing in order to avoid ugly clumps...you don't get the flow effect that you can achieve with royal icing, but you can overlay additional almond bark to cover clumps or messes.  You need to move quickly in spreading your almond bark because of the quick set nature of the material as well.

Consider a chocolate melting pot to keep your royal icing alternative hot and fluid while you work.  I have a chocolate fountain, but that didn't seem practical, and this will go on my list for next year's project when I plan to make all of our houses with almond bark icing.

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Gingerbread Favors and Goody Bags

Gingerbread House Party Favor Ideas

If you are planning ahead for a big gingerbread house party, you may have in mind to create a set of favor bags.  The ages of your participants will determine what types of favors you might use.  Candy will have been consumed in quantity, so you may want to opt for fun products like the gingerbread necklace shown above.  Keep things age appropriate.  Don't give beads to small children.  However, if you have preschoolers through teens, this foam gingerbread necklace is a perfect example of a great goody bag filler.  It's great even if your focus isn't strictly on gingerbread houses.

Gingerbread Goody Bags for Christmas Parties

You'll love some of the fun goody bags and boxes available for gingerbread themed Christmas parties as well.  The set shown here is adorable and unique, crafted of canvas and created with an appealing flair that children and adults with both love.

Gingerbread House Treat Box

Of course, if you want to send gingerbread cookies or excess gingerbread house candy decorations home with your guests, these treat boxes are also fun.  These work well as gift boxes for food gifts if you are focused on making gifts to give this year as well.

Are You Counting Down Until Gingerbread House Making Day?

My kiddos are beginning to think about the holidays, and of course, that means gingerbread house decorations and gingerbread house techniques are becoming part of the weekly conversation.  Gingerbread house making day isn't set in stone yet, but with 2 kids in college, we are looking at the latter part of December. 

I depend on my older daughters to help with the baking, and in fact, they've watched so much through the years that they can do the baking and cutting on their own.  Imagine starting out as a Mom with all of the expertise and experience that it took me nearly 20 years to amass.  My daughters will most certainly have fun with their own house decorating as mothers some day.

Parents, even if your kiddos are young, create a tradition that instills understanding and experience while building skills.  My learning began as a youngster making cookies with my Mom.  Gingerbread wasn't an annual tradition, but it was a treasured one.  With my kids, I've improved over time to the point where they will have lots of knowledge about what works and what doesn't when they create their own family traditions.  Whatever your holiday holds, traditions based on favorite baking and decorating themes are cementitious in that they hold things together.

You can check out my compilation of recipes, techniques and gingerbread traditions here.

Gingerbread House Village Parts

Gingerbread House Village

If you don't really want to make your own gingerbread house village, these beautiful ceramic gingerbread houses are just wonderful. There are lots of additional options, and this can be equally captivating for adults and children. My sister-in-law has extensive Christmas village displays set up each year, and they fascinate the kids. I love the idea of a gingerbread Christmas village theme! Explore more ceramic gingerbread house decor.

Whimsical Gingerbread House Techniques: Sugar Cone Trees

Whimsical Gingerbread House Tree Figurinees

If you love gingerbread house decor during your holiday season, then you will adore these cute trees.  If you want to incorporate this concept into your gingerbread house techniques, there is absolutely no difficulty in tracking down sugar cones and doing a little stacking.

If you need a little padding between cones to create a layer that makes for distinct levels of each cone section, I suggest using a soft candy like Air Heads, rolling out a bit between parchment paper layers to thin, and placing between sections.  Marshmallow would work as well.  Fondant would also work.

Of course, a single cone makes an elegant tree, while stacked cones are more whimsical.

For more gingerbread house techniques, be sure to explore this post (http://allthingsgingerbread.blogspot.com/p/gingerbread-cutting-techniques.html), full of my cutting techniques for making your own gingerbread houses.

Gingerbread House Yard Decor: Gingerbread Flag

Gingerbread House Yard Decor:  Gingerbread Flag

Yard flags are great for use in your holiday decorating. They serve as visual reminders of the season without requiring a huge amount of effort. You can save all of your decorating energy for your gingerbread house project in the kitchen! The gingerbread house yard flag depicted is a beautiful choice of holiday imagery, great for greeting carolers or for welcoming your grandkids to gingerbread camp. Of course, if you are looking for a gingerbread man or an inflatable gingerbread house, there are always more gingerbread house yard decor possibilities.