Gingerbread House Perfection?

I've found that perfection is in the eye of the gingerbread artist, consistent with personal goals and vision, when it comes to making a gingerbread house from scratch.  When you are working with kids, to assemble and decorate gingerbread houses, you'll find that a greater number of hands leads to a time intensive project, and attention to detail varies.

Every year, we learn new ways to get better results, but every year, I become less stressed about the appearance of the final products.  First, as the kids get older, their personal touches become more personalized and unique, and they become capable of perfecting their creations according to their own vision.  Small children will put a few candies here and there, and one shouldn't expect a gingerbread house worthy of feature by the Martha Stewart's of the world.  Older children are interesting to watch, though, as you see the variation in modalities displayed in their final results.  My analytical, visual learning children often have very defined decoration patterns, while my more artistic, auditory, and creative children find unique ways to work a theme into their gingerbread art. 

In preparing, I've found that organization is important for sanity's sake.  I've also found some different baking and cutting techniques that provide a more standard outcome in the gingerbread panels.  I don't worry so much about the assembly, in terms of perfectly placed icing, because this often gets covered in the decorating process.

You'll find my cutting techniques here, and a guide to my gingerbread house how to's here.

Wilton Gingerbread House Kit: Prebaked Gingerbread Activities

Prebaked Gingerbread House Kits provide
the opportunity for the busy household to enjoy the fun
of gingerbread house decoration, in spite of the busy-ness of the season.

If you are in a hectic household, the holidays can seem difficult to navigate.  In our busiest years, it's tough to find time to bake, and making a gingerbread house from scratch may be too much to handle.  This Wilton pre-baked kit is an example of a means to the end:  the kids can decorate a gingerbread house, but Mom doesn't have to figure out where to fit all the steps of from scratch gingerbread baking into the schedule.  The kids won't mind the shortcut...the decorating is the highlight for the youngsters.

Gingerbread House Making for 12

Most years, I make a dozen gingerbread houses, enough for the kids, their friends, and myself to have fun decorating.  I can tell you, from years of experience, that it is a lot of work, lots of time on my feet, and a little tiring, but totally worth it.  However, I am a stay at home mom who has time for this (or makes time) during the Christmas season, and realize that this is not a realistic pursuit for many households.  Still, the fun of a gingerbread house party for the kids and their friends can be done, with pre-baked gingerbread house kits.  The one featured below comes with royal icing mix, gingerbread house panels, and an assortment of candies.  You will want to allow time to review the candies, and purchase others, if some of your favorites are missing.  However, this is a wonderful way to create the decorating experience on a large scale, with much less time and effort.

Gingerbread House Kit 12Ct Gingerbread House Kit: GR No Description available

Gingerbread Timeline: Planning Ahead to Make Gingerbread Houses

Everybody's gingerbread house decoration schedule will be different, but in general, a bigger project requires a little more planning.  A spur of the moment event, done with a pre-baked gingerbread kit, takes minimal time.  However, if you want to find a unique pre-baked house, then you will want to check some online sources.  A few unique kits are found on this blog, just use the search bar, and "pre-baked", to find relevant posts.  Most big box retailers will only have a basic model, but online, you can find some unique items.  You can also check the "Gingerbread Essentials" tab above, for my a-store listings.

If you are working from scratch, you will want to decide on a method.  For the beginner, I highly suggest a cookie cutter gingerbread house set. 

Pick a goal date of decorating, and work backwards from there.  You will want your assembly day to coincide, or to precede decorating day by only one or two days.  Baking can be as far in advance as needed, if you don't mind freezing your panels.  It's best to allow at least a day prior to assembly, though, so pieces can all cool.  Same day assembly is possible, just allow plenty of cooling time.

Generally, I make gingerbread a 3 day project, and those days are almost always subsequent.  I try to have this activity done about a week before Christmas, so that other last minute preparations for the holiday are not interrupted.  However, I've finished the project as close as 3 days before Christmas, some years.  We even did our houses a few days after Christmas, once, in order to include cousins in the fun.

A visual aid, a printed calendar page can provide the concrete reference you need.  Work backward from your baking day, and assess your dates for purchasing supplies, inviting friends, and getting mentally ready. 

Pre-Baked Gingerbread House Kit, by Wilton

If your aspirations to create a beautiful gingerbread house are tempered by a hectic holiday schedule, let Wilton do the work for you, with this pre-baked kit.  All you need to do is assemble to pre-baked gingerbread panels.  Royal Icing and candies are included, but you can always pick up some extra candies!

Wilton W1509 PreBaked Gingerbread House Kit WILTONPreBaked Cookie House Kit. This eddible Christmas cottage is a treat anyone can enjoy; whether assembling or eating. Everything you need is included in this kit: Easytoassemble cookie panels (5 gingerbread house pieces); decorating icing mix with directions; lots of candy; decorating tips; disposable decorating bags; cardboard base and complete instructions with wonderful decorating ideas. Finished house measures approximately 6.5Hx8Wx7D.