Gingerbread House Inspiration + DIY Tips Now for Edible Architecture!

Will you be decorating cookies, baking gingerbread, or creating a magical gingerbread house this year during the holidays? Gingerbread House Inspiration + DIY Tips Now for Edible Architecture! may ignite your passion for these sweet symbols of snowy winter wonderlands.

I independently selected products in this post—if you buy from one of my links, I may earn a commission.

I have always loved the simplicity of the petite little gingerbread houses (above) Design Improvised chose for a kids party.

Gingerbread House Inspiration + DIY Tips Now for Edible Architecture

Because you can skip all the pastry torture time in the kitchen with these creative ideas for edible and non-edible gingerbread.

You’ll find traditional and fanciful examples decorated by artistic champions to inspire, candy houses, chocolate houes, and kits for instant decor, BUT ALSO simple ideas for holiday crafters of any age.

Need a uniform for decorating gingerbread? I love this Dolly Parton’s apron of many colors (and if you know her famous song about her childhood coat, you’ll be extra fond of these!).

A jadeite pedestal makes everything look sweeter and darling!

1. Sub Waffles for Gingerbread

Need an excuse to dust off that Belgian waffle iron? This one makes a very geometric brunchy statement, and should it fail, all of those sweet receptacles for syrup will still successfully deliver deliciousness.

2. Hot Glue Graham Crackers

While they may not be edible, this is a smart and easy way to pre-assemble gingerbread houses for a decorating party. I have done this with homemade prebaked gingerbread for a December birthday party, and it was a hit!

3. Gingerbread House Boxes

Aren’t these sweet? Continuing with the gingerbread decorating party theme, you could skip traditional candy houses and decorate boxes. The template makes assembly a snap, and markers or paints will get the job done.

4. Cardboard Gingerbread Houses

A white chalk marker, some glue, and a cardboard box are about all you need for this easy craft.

How to Build a Gingerbread Gift Box

5. Decorate Pre-made Gingerbread Cookies

When I served as a room mom, it was a challenge coming up with a DIY for the annual class Christmas party mainly because time was always short!

How perfect would a costume-y festive apron like this (above) be for hosting any holiday shindig?!?

Since kids love decorating cookies, keeping the activity as streamlined as possible was key. Some years, I brought scallop-edged Swedish Pepperkakor ginger cookies since they easily transform into snowflakes with white icing. (This is breaking with traditional Swedish tradition since the cookies are eaten un-iced, so do forgive!).

I would prepare a big batch of homemade buttercream, fill individual baggies, and instruct students to snip a corner of the baggie to easily pipe icing on cookies.

6. Get Creative Customizing a Kit

Even if you decide to use a premade gingerbread house kit, there will still be plenty of room for creativity!

Inspiration for Decorating Your Gingerbread Cottage

Alternatively, bake the gingerbread and simply enjoy the aroma as it bakes without any construction at all!

Here are some gingerbread recipe ideas.

Decorate Your Christmas House With Nuts & Cereal

When Gingerbread Decorating Looks Like Martha Was Here

My Childlike Wonky Candy Cottage

I’m terrible at cake decorating and gingerbread everything! The only thing I can really handle is making the most delicious tasting gingerbread. So my imperfect attempts should encourage you to go for it.

Pink sticks of bubblegum are the main design element. Gingerbread people cookies can be left plain or decorated.

Old fashioned hard candy sticks in delicious stripes also work well – but definitely use something to precisely made clean cuts! Mine look ridiculous in these photos!

You can buy royal icing or find a recipe for it here.

Trees were formed with gumballs, pretzel sticks, and gumdrops.

Alphabet cookies can spell out any sentiment you like.

White cotton candy makes great snow – it starts out fluffy and cotton-like before evaporating within a few hours and lying flat.

Magnificent Gingerbread House Creations to Inspire

Rock Candy Trees

No matter the size of your gingerbread house, rock candy sticks work magically for trees since they glisten and resemble psychedelic quartzy Christmas evergreens. (Also notice how effective a monochromatic color scheme works: in this case, slightly varying shades of pink boost fantasy factor…sigh!).

Gumdrop Gabled Roof

Gumdrops are your best friend as a gingerbread house builder since they are easily sculpted into varying shapes, cut open to reveal sticky insides that can be pressed into place, beautiful on their own with their sugary frosted snow exteriors, and perfect for massing on a rooftop as magical, balloon-like roof tiles.

Isn’t the tall gingerbread house below reminiscent of a Paris apartment building!?!

Heart Shaped Candies

Is it any wonder that a heart shaped anything pulls at our heartstrings? If you can find heart shaped chocolates for decorating your house…hurray! If you cannot, think about forming your own hearts from gumdrops or cutting heart shapes from Swedish Fish or fruit leathers.

Topiary Trees

In the gingerbread house below, topiary trees have been formed with pink lollipops, brown sugar (I think), and thimble-sized caps or plastic toys, but you can easily substitute gumdrops for the base by molding them to your taste.

Think Lollipops & Ice Cream Cones

Old fashioned swirly whirly vividly striped lollipops and suckers look right at home for homemade gingerbread houses and add to the nostalgia and romance. These turquoise blueberry beauties may just inspire you!

How to make them stand in place? Styrofoam will work for a base, and in some cases, gumdrops!

Round and Round Candy House

The beautiful gingerbread house below incorporates round wafers which soften the home’s overall design and presentation. Even the royal icing is piped in lacy, delicate patterns as opposed to strong straight lines.

Cupcake Chimney Smoke

Isn’t this sweet white cupcake adorned with a single red candy perfect for simulating chimney smoke from a candy cane chimney?

Notice too how the vanilla wafer cookies as roof tiles are not uniformly placed but are staggered artfully to suggest an aged rooftop? (Pssst…need lemondrops for house landscaping like above?)

Move Over Gingerbread

Your magical Christmas candy house need not be made of gingerbread or any cookies at all should you choose to build walls of chocolate.

How genius is this candy bar Christmas house (or church!)?

Isn’t the chocolate bar base genius for stabilizing this house?

How fun to “research” candy bars for their potential for shiplap, board and batten, and log cabin architectural textures.

White Chocolate Candy House

You can also build a candy or cake house with silicone molds to fill with chocolate or brownie batter…

Cheerful Skittles Embellishment

Maybe you will opt for happy hued Skittles, a few gumballs, red hots, and peppermints for your gingerbread house design which can be completed in just a short amount of time…so simple lovely.

Mini is Awfully Merry

This wee little gingerbread house looks adorable with its vivid and unexpected color palette and crisper look with royal icing only on the roof.

Frank Lloyd Wright Approved

Who says you have to stick to a gabled roofline for your gingerbread house? Go Midcentury Modern with a flat roof and minimal embellishments for a creative spin on holiday house splendor.

If you plan ahead in your gingerbread making, you can cut an arched door and position it to be open like the house below which adds to the warm hospitable flavor of the whole design.

Fairytale Turret

To create a tower or turret like the wondrous candy house below, you could incorporate a simple plastic kitchen funnel (with its base snipped off) for the roof atop a cylinder which only appears to be gingerbread. The addition of bright candy decorations and little fairy lights inside is pure magic.

Wafers & Old School

Don’t forget the geometric lovely and sweet scale of candy wafers to construct your gingerbread houses. The chocolate bar candy house below is also illustrative of the power of limiting yourself to old fashioned candy only for a truly vintage-inspired gingerbread or candy house.

Pin this post for future reference! And DO VISIT my Christmas Boards HERE and HERE to save even more lovely inspiration!

If You Decide to Make it a Party

Doesn’t the beyond lovely tablescape below take your breath away and perhaps make you yearn to host a gingerbread house making party (which would float the boat of every girl or grandma)?

Gold dotted gift wrap or kraft paper, chevron gift wrapped boards, plastic paint palettes to house candies (just 50 cents per palette and free shipping!) and partially constructed gingerbread houses await the creativity and imaginations of the lucky party guests.

For holiday decor interior design inspiration, jump over HERE!

I independently selected products in this post—if you buy from one of my links, I may earn a commission.

Peace to you right where you are.

-michele

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