Delicious Ideas to Inspire Your Gingerbread House Making

Delicious Ideas to Inspire Your Gingerbread House Making may be helpful with any of your crafty or baking plans during the holidays. Last year at my sister’s for Thanksgiving, it was a relaxing way to spend the afternoon. No photos to show off from that day since our creations were less than blogworthy (we were more engrossed in laughter and conversation than architecture!).

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

Ideas to Inspire Your Gingerbread House Making

Elevate Simple Gingerbread Creations With a Pretty Pedestal

Sometimes you can skip the complicated architecture and gravity defying embellishments by thinking about a pretty pedestal. Here’s a perfect example from Design Improvised who placed this sweet simple cottage on a Jadeite cake plate at a kids party.

Sweet little gingerbread house cottage on a jadeite cake pedestal - Design Improvised. #gingerbreadhouse #christmasdiy #holidaybaking
Design Improvised – Darling Gingerbread House Inspiration as well as Smart Holiday DIY Ideas.

Gingerbread Chicken Coop

No need to limit yourself to a cottage or castle, here’s a sweet chicken coop with copper topped cupola. The copper is Big red gum.

Charming white gingerbread house chicken coop with cupola (Big Red gum copper roof) and American flag - Eleven Gables. #gingerbreadhouse #christmasdiy #holidaybaking
Eleven Gables

Chewing gum sticks are perfect for creating siding for your gingerbread houses…Doublemint is what Eleven Gables used on the coop above.

Premade Gingerbread House Centerpiece

Skip the DIY and let someone else make your gingerbread cottage if you’re after a whimsically sweet centerpiece and don’t want to go to the trouble (and gamble!) of baking and embellishing.

Winter Gingerbread House Cottage Centerpiece with personalization - Williams Sonoma. #gingerbreadhouse #premadegingerbreadhouse
Winter Gingerbread House…hello pastel pretty holiday indeed.

What’s wonderful is the option for personalization!

You can also consider everlasting options like these advent calendar village houses:

Advent Calendar Printable Christmas Village Boxes PDF image 2
Advent Calendar Printable Christmas Village Boxes – Little Llama Shoppe on etsy

Here are a few ideas for gingerbread house making fashion…a patchwork Dolly Parton design:

Dolly Parton Adult & Kid Aprons
Dolly Parton Adult & Kid Aprons – such a festive holiday apron indeed.

and the sweetest pajama options from a quality brand:

Burt’s Bees Baby® Women's Holiday Rugby Striped Pajama Set - Red
Stripe Pajamas

Breakfast Waffle Cottages

Put those little squares to work holding gumdrops and royal icing!

Bear in mind you don’t even need to dust off that Belgian waffle iron. You can purchase the waffles for a little less work.

I love the inspiration the image above provides. Notice the whipped cream, licorice window shutters, strawberries, chocolate door, and bacon sidewalk/cobble path. Candy is minimal on this one yet it remains delightful.

Wouldn’t these be perfect for a holiday brunch?

Cookie Dough Cottages

Move over gingerbread…don’t you love the idea of a delicious sugar cookie dough for your sweet house?

Fanciful gingerbread house made from sugar cookie dough and colorful candies.

Steal this idea for the roof: storebought meringue cookies!

Fanciful gingerbread house made from sugar cookie dough and colorful candies.

Pink, white, and silver is a magical trio:

Pink Christmas gingerbread house on a pedestal - Sweetopia. #gingerbreadhouse #pinkchristms
Sweetopia…certainly an inspiring holiday gingerbread house indeed.

Fantasy Gingerbread Houses & Mansions

Amazing gingerbread house is a summer cottage! #gingerbreadhouses
via CakeCentral
Fantasy gingerbread house studded with candies.
Worth Pinning…certainly an inspiring holiday gingerbread house indeed.
Fanciful and magnificent gingerbread house with three stories - Goodies by Anna. #gingerbreadhouse #holidaybaking #christmasdiy
Goodies by Anna…in case you love a festive and fanciful Christmas gingerbread fantasy house.
Magnificent white gingerbread house cottage with trees and snow - Art-korova. #gingerbreadhouse #whitechristmas #diy #baking
Art Korova…certainly an inspiring holiday gingerbread house indeed.
Magnificent prize-winning gingerbread house by Glenda Tant called "Christmas in Venice." #gingerbreadhouse #christmasbaking #holidaybaking
Jason Tarr…in case you admire a festive fantasy Christmas gingerbread house.
Magnificent prize-winning gingerbread house by Glenda Tant called "Christmas in Venice." #gingerbreadhouse #christmasbaking #holidaybaking
Jason Tarr…in case you admire award winning fantasy gingerbread!

Rock Candy & Gumdrop Embellishments

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

Charming pink accents on a gingerbread house cottage with pink rock candy trees. #gingerbreadhouse #pinkchristmas #holidaybaking

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.

King Arthur Flour Gingerbread House

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

Magnificent sugar cookie townhouse with fanciful gumdrop decorated roof! Solodke. #gingerbreadhouse #candyhouse #gumdrops #holidaydiy
Solodke…certainly one of my favorite sugar cookie houses!

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.

Adorable gingerbread house with hearts, stars, and pink
Local Cakemaker

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!

Quirky and fanciful gingerbread house decorated with ice cream cones and bright color candies - Allas.Se #gingerbreadhouse #holidaybaking #christmasdiy
Allas…certainly charming indeed.

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

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?

Cupcake chimney on a fanciful candy house decorated with vanilla wafers. #gingerbreadhouse #christmasbaking #holidaydiy

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?)

Graham Cracker Gingerbread Houses

Here’s a great crafty activity I have done for several parties. While not edible, these little houses can be prepped ahead of time for a decorating party. Pre-assemble the graham cracker houses using hot glue.

Gingerbread houses pre-assembled with hot glue for a decorating party - Eat This Up.
Preassembled graham cracker gingerbread houses – Eat This Up

If you love baking gingerbread like I do, you can also pre-assemble the houses using the real stuff. Turn up the Christmas music! Your house is going to smell out of this world, and your party is going to be a hit!

Magnificent pink gingerbread shop gingerbread house by Sprinkle Bakes! #gingerbreadhouse #candyhouse #pinkChristmas #holidaybaking
Sprinkle Bakes…certainly an inspiring holiday gingerbread house indeed.

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

Gingerbread House Boxes & Kits

Another inedible house idea is to use boxes for decorating. A template makes assembly a snap, and markers or paints will get the job done.

Gingerbread house box diy is a sweet way to package holiday goodies and Christmas cookies for gifts! #gingerbreadhouse #giftbox #christmasdiy
1000 Details – Darling Gingerbread House Inspiration as well as Smart Holiday DIY Ideas.

Once again, elevating your little houses on pedestals makes all the difference!

Printable Advent Calendar Gingerbread Houses DIY Paper image 6
LittleLlamaShoppe on etsy – Gingerbread House Village Printables

I like the idea of going a little further than just assembling these box village houses…hot glue peppermints, gumdrops, and assorted hard candies to them for greater dimension and color.

You could even glue storebought gingerbread boys and girls on the houses.

The gift box above is adorable, and if you’re using it for decoration, it seems just right for gluing sticks of gum for colorful siding.

There are also great options for painting your gingerbread house with the help of kits like the one above.

Did I save the best one for last? A white chalk marker, glue, and a cardboard box are about all you need for this easy craft.

Darling gingerbread gift boxes by The House That Lars Built. #gingerbreadhouses #giftboxes #diy #holidaycrafts
DIY Gingerbread Gift Box – The House That Lars Built

How to Build a Gingerbread Gift Box

Decorate Pre-made Gingerbread Cookies

When I served as a room mom, it was a challenge planning holiday crafts for the annual class Christmas party since time was always short! (It makes me a little sad thinking about that now – our sons were worked so hard even as first graders! How I wish there had been a different mindset at work, recognizing that childhood needs plenty of play and rest even at school.)

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

Since kids love decorating cookies, keeping the holiday party 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.

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

Here are some gingerbread recipe ideas.

My Wonky Candy Cottage

I’m terrible at cake decorating and gingerbread everything!

Gingerbread House Ideas & Inspiration #hellolovelystudio #pinkchristmas #gingerbreadhouse

The only thing I can really handle is baking the most delicious tasting gingerbread.

Gingerbread House Ideas & Inspiration #hellolovelystudio #pinkchristmas #gingerbreadhouse

So my imperfect attempts should encourage you to go for it.

Gingerbread House Ideas & Inspiration #hellolovelystudio #pinkchristmas #gingerbreadhouse

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

Gingerbread House Ideas & Inspiration #hellolovelystudio #pinkchristmas #gingerbreadhouse

Alphabet cookies can spell out any sentiment you like.

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!

Old-Fashioned Candy Sticks (80 pc)
Old fashioned candy sticks

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

Gingerbread House Ideas & Inspiration #hellolovelystudio #pinkchristmas #gingerbreadhouse

White cotton candy makes great snow – it starts out fluffy and cotton-like before evaporating within a few hours and lying flat. Trees were formed with gumballs, pretzel sticks, and gumdrops.

Chocolate Candy Houses

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

Chocolate bar candy house for Christmas - My cupcake addiction.
My Cupcake Addiction – see the tutorial video for this chocolate bar house below!

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

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

Ingredients for chocolate bar candy gingerbread house by My Cupcake Addiction. #gingerbreadhouses #chocolatehouses #candyhouses #holidaybaking #holidaytreats

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

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

Teeny Tiny Houses

This wee little gingerbread house looks adorable with its vivid and unexpected color palette and crisper look with icing only on the roof. Psst. It’s made with polymer clay.

Miniature Gingerbread Houses with vivid colorful Polymer Clay
Petit Plat…in case you love wee little cottages.

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.

Gingerbread house with midcentury mod style. #gingerbreadhouses #holidaybaking #gingerbread #christmasbaking
via Vogue…certainly clever indeed.

Does Your House Need a 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.

Magical and darling, this candy house turret has been decorated whimsically with colorful candies - Lizon. #gingerbreadhouse #holidaybaking
Lizon…certainly magical indeed.

The addition of bright candy decorations and little fairy lights inside is pure magic.

Repeat a Geometric

For orderly types, repeat a shape like this candy cottage with candy wafers. The chocolate bar candy house also illustrates how limiting your decorations to old fashioned candy creates a truly vintage-inspired feel.

Chocolate Hersheys candy gingerbread house.
BHG…in case chocolate is your favorite gingerbread.

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

Should You Decide to Make it a Party…

Doesn’t this set up feel inspiring should you decide to host a gingerbread making party?

Gingerbread house making party ingredients and tablescape.
Design Improvised

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, mosey 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

Thanks for shopping RIGHT HERE to keep decor inspiration flowing on Hello Lovely!

Hello Lovely is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

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White Slipcovered Sofa
SHOP MY HOME!
29″ Whitewashed Table Lamp Set of 2
White Matelasse Quilt on MY BED
SHOP MY BATH!
Trees White Wallpaper Mural
Round Farmhouse Table
Myla Slipcover Sofa
Deconstructed Wingback Bed
French Farmhouse Dining Table
Milagro Heart
Slipcovered Dining Chair
Rustic Farmhouse Stool
Edgecombe End Table
Parisian Style Iron Table Lamp  33.5″
Black or Bronze Accent Table
French Stripe Basket Set
White Cotton Crochet Bed Skirt
French Country Rattan Basket Set
Marble Subway Mosaic Tile
Rattan Basket With Lid
White Ruffle Bedding
Seagrass Basket Set
Schumacher Wild Things Wallpaper
Slipcovered Sofa
Upholstered Dining Arm Chair
Shop My Breakfast Nook
White Matelasse Quilt
Tree Mural Wallpaper
Faux Potted French Lavender
Shaw Daybed
Distressed White French Country Chandelier
French Country Headboard
Oval Back Counter Stool, Set of 2
Antique Brass Pharmacy Floor Lamp
Round French Tufted Ottoman
Kinston Wood Bench
Italian Candelabra Chandelier
Slipcovered Linen Chair
Warner Upholstered Bench
Rustic Country French Dresser
Laurel Wreath Mirror
Round Farmhouse Dining Table
Reclaimed Wood Dresser
Louis Upholstered Bench
Pardon My French Doormat
Stripe Turkish Towel Throw
Pamela Arm Chair
Sweater Weave Basket
French Carved Wood Chandelier
Terracotta Pots & Basket
French Country Wood Chandelier
French Linen Dining Chair
Gustavian Cabinet
French Farmhouse Dining Table
Bar Stool
Beachy White Slipcovered Sofa
Rattan Armchair
Diptyque Oyedo Candle
Cross Back Dining Chair
French Country Candle Holder
French Industrial Metal Chairs (4)
Designer Favorite Wall Mirror
Holborn Lantern Pendant
French Country 6-Light Chandelier
Tray Side Table
French Country Upholstered Arm Chair
Wicker Trunk Set
French Ticking Stripe Pillow
Jute Area Rug
Mohair Throw
Rustic Industrial Farmhouse Shelves
Belgian Linen Sofa
White Duvet & Bedding
Rustic Wood Candlestick Set
French Market Basket
Linen Modern Wing Chair
French Country Farmhouse Baskets
Concrete Pillar Table Lamp
Boheme Madera Bench
Belgian Style Lamp
Kendall Skirted Dining Chair
White Charleston Sofa
Scrubbed Wood 5-Light Chandelier
Arched Champagne Wall Mirror
Moravian Star 1-Light Pendant
Highback Armchair
Mini Pendant Light
White Vase Set
Round Woven Placemat Set
Cashmere Throw With Fringe
Wreath Doormat
Fireclay Farm Sink (Reinhard, 30″)
White Waffle Coverlet
Light Grey Vienna Quilt
Boheme Madera Bench
Belgian Linen Duvet Set
Round Marble Side Table
Rustic Pedestal Farm Table
Rattan Hanging Chair Swing