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Post by iamkristinl16 on Dec 22, 2020 20:35:32 GMT
We usually do gingerbread houses and I get so frustrated with trying to get the houses to stay together. Then, after hours of trying to get four houses to stay together and the decorating, the kids want to eat them the minute they are finished. Ugh.
Last year I found some that were pre-made and that was so much better. This year, I got the kids a gingerbread stadium from target and they did that themselves while I was at work. However, the other day youngest ds said that he really wanted to do a gingerbread house and all I could find was a cheap Hershey’s house kit. Once again, it wouldn’t stay together and ds tore it apart the second we were finished.
Are there tips or tricks to making them stay together and look good? Certain brands to look for next year? Am I the only one that doesn’t have patience for this?
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Post by M on Dec 22, 2020 20:36:32 GMT
I have never done one and always wanted to. I'll be watching for any tips!
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Post by myshelly on Dec 22, 2020 20:37:00 GMT
We ALWAYS buy prebuilt.
No frustration, just candy and icing fun.
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Post by padresfan619 on Dec 22, 2020 20:38:39 GMT
I have absolutely no patience for it, even when I was a kid I had absolutely no patience for it. My mom LOVES to make them and I can’t sit there and watch her fight with the icing and the parts of the house until it either totally breaks or somewhat resembles a house we can decorate.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Jun 2, 2024 10:54:59 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Dec 22, 2020 20:43:14 GMT
I get dd her kit from Sensitive Sweets in Fountain Valley, Ca. It is free from major allergens. (They ship)
Anyways it comes with a piping bag of confectioners sugar that you add 2-5 tbsp of hot water to and mix until thick and shiny.
I pipe one wall bottom only. And hold in place for a few minutes. Pipe the next wall side and bottom and attach, again holding in place.
Rinse and repeat. I let the 4 walls cure for 10 min then attach the 2 roof pieces.
Those cure for 20 min and she decorates.
No need for cans to hold it in place.
Oh and we attach it to cardboard.
She made hers Saturday and it is still holding strong.
We use the left over royal icing to attach the candies and use the butter cream to add snow to the roof.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Jun 2, 2024 10:54:59 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Dec 22, 2020 20:44:12 GMT
I also let the pieces air dry over night so they are more firm and not as soft
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auntviv
Junior Member
Posts: 96 
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Post by auntviv on Dec 22, 2020 20:45:47 GMT
We always use a glue gun to get the houses to stay together. Might be cheating but it cuts down on a lot of frustration.
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used2scrap
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,036
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Post by used2scrap on Dec 22, 2020 20:49:27 GMT
We always use a glue gun to get the houses to stay together. Might be cheating but it cuts down on a lot of frustration. Yes this And often gingerbread house doesn’t get made for Christmas because we’re too busy so we end up with a winter house or even a Valentine’s house! |
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Post by smalltowngirlie on Dec 22, 2020 20:56:17 GMT
The only time I have ever made a "gingerbread" house we used graham crackers. It worked because it was a much smaller. I think it was part of an activity at PreK.
It was never anything we did growing up so have never done it as an adult.
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MaryMary
Pearl Clutcher
Lazy
Posts: 2,975
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Post by MaryMary on Dec 22, 2020 20:57:01 GMT
Yup, after years of collapsing houses, I buy prebuilt. Now we skip all the frustration and get right to the good parts.
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Post by iamkristinl16 on Dec 22, 2020 21:06:39 GMT
Next year I will definitely buy a pre built house. I thought we would also try making some out of pop tarts this year since we have so much candy left from last years houses. But the other kids don’t want to mess with it, just youngest ds. He is happily eating his house right now. Even if it was a lot of work it might be worth it if we could display them. But it is added frustration on my part that he wants to eat it right away.
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Post by sam9 on Dec 22, 2020 21:12:16 GMT
I’ve never made one, but I can practically guarantee that if we ever did and managed to get it to stay together that the structure would never get eaten at my house. Candies might be picked off but the gingerbread parts would remain in tact forever, LOL.
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Peal
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,524
Jun 25, 2014 22:45:40 GMT
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Post by Peal on Dec 22, 2020 21:38:22 GMT
I use cans to hold the walls in place while the icing dries.
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Belle
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,309
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Post by Belle on Dec 22, 2020 21:42:21 GMT
In the past, I would use a glue gun. We never actually eat the gingerbread house so a little glue didn't matter.
I ONLY buy prebuilt houses now and get them at Costco. The prices is reasonable and they come with premade frosting too.
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samantha25
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,931
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Post by samantha25 on Dec 22, 2020 21:44:22 GMT
Make your own royal icing. Works much better.
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Post by myboysnme on Dec 22, 2020 22:00:10 GMT
I have never done one. I think I would like it. I once helped with a graham cracker one at a school party.
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Post by mom2kbs on Dec 22, 2020 22:00:18 GMT
I make a super thick icing using meringue powder. We always have one collapse but this year I built everything the day before and they were so much easier to do!
I love to eat the gingerbread so I make my own. However, the pre-built ones are tempting!
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julie5
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,611
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Post by julie5 on Dec 22, 2020 22:06:39 GMT
I was going to skip them because my son just eats the candy and icing and doesn’t build them. Like you can just eat candy for a lot cheaper. But my husband wanted to do them this year so I bought them and my son had a meltdown. But my husband was the ace stepdad and helped him put together his broken house with icing as glue. It was definitely more fun.
Next year I’ll buy the Oreo houses before they sell out like I should have done this year.
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Post by Basket1lady on Dec 22, 2020 22:13:31 GMT
I use cans to hold the walls in place while the icing dries. Yup! We would also assemble the sides and then leave them for an hour or two. Then repeat with the roof. It took some preplanning, but if we put the walls up, had lunch, then put the roof on, we could decorate after dinner. DH would be home by then and join in on the fun. We didn’t pull the cans away until then. And make sure the roof pieces are well supported or they will slide. My royal icing dries like a rock. DH and DS are black belts and would try to break the house down but never could. We made houses from the Longaberger molds for years. Then the kids would eat the candy and we would put the body of the house out for the squirrels. There would be looong scrapes down the sides from their teeth and they would sit out there gnawing on the roof. It was pretty funny. |
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Post by deekaye on Dec 22, 2020 22:16:28 GMT
When the girls were in preschool we used graham crackers iced on to the wax milk cartons (they still have those, yes? I'm kind of old!). It worked really well, and held up to some rough little fingers icing and pushing candies on to the houses. They were little but oh so cute and totally edible.
As the girls got older we made real gingerbread houses and learned to build the houses first with lots of stiff icing "cement" and let them dry overnight. More fun to be able to decorate them the next day without slippy-slidey walls and roofs coming tumbling down!
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Post by lisae on Dec 22, 2020 22:19:44 GMT
Cheat! Take a small box, wrap it in aluminum foil leaving the top open, and glue your gingerbread sides to the box with icing. Lift the top of the box so that the two parts of the top form a roof and cover those in foil also (it won't quite come together in the middle but close enough hold everything), Glue the roof to those parts of the top of your box with icing.
Make extra gingerbread for eating.
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Post by basket1ladyphotos on Dec 22, 2020 22:21:50 GMT
Or do this!  |
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Post by cmpeter on Dec 22, 2020 22:42:55 GMT
I’m so buying a toy Dino for our houses next year!
We make them on Thanksgiving. We always make our own royal icing (use the recipe that comes in the can of Wilton meringue powder). We usually don’t have a problem with collapsing. But have used the can trick too.
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J u l e e
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,531
Location: Cincinnati
Jun 28, 2014 2:50:47 GMT
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Post by J u l e e on Dec 22, 2020 23:00:35 GMT
Until this thread, I never knew people actually ate their gingerbread houses!!!
We’re usually so sick from eating all the candy while we decorate, plus I always just thought they were decor.
I’m a Christmas idiot!
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gina
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,228
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Post by gina on Dec 22, 2020 23:39:06 GMT
We never eat them because they taste hard & stale after sitting out, so this year I told my kids to hot glue it together. lol Worked perfectly.
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Post by workingclassdog on Dec 22, 2020 23:57:52 GMT
Speaking of (we never do them cause I get mad and frustrated..lol) but I have a friend who's huge family all gets together and builds a freaking town!!! It's so big they have to do it in the basement!
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Dalai Mama
Drama Llama
La Pea Boheme
Posts: 6,985
Jun 26, 2014 0:31:31 GMT
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Post by Dalai Mama on Dec 23, 2020 0:22:53 GMT
We have a general rule that we don’t cook anything that looks better than it tastes. Gingerbread houses are pretty but, if you do bother to eat them, are stale and gross.
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Just T
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,548
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Post by Just T on Dec 23, 2020 0:59:15 GMT
I have never made one, but I suspect I would indeed hate it. LOL
I tried decorating sugar cookies one year. They looked like a kindergarten project gone very wrong. I can bake and cook all sorts of things, but I don't have the decorating gene. I can't imagine what a gingerbread house I would make would end up looking like.
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Post by pierkiss on Dec 23, 2020 1:00:11 GMT
🙋♀️🙋♀️🙋♀️Me!!!!!!! My mom and her best friend were so insane that with them that they are forever ruined for me. My kids asked if we could do one this year and I said absolutely not. They are awful, wretched creations designed to make people scream a lot and drink excessively. No.
We will decorate adorable sugar cookies that look like hot garbage but taste Devine, and have a super fun time doing it instead of all being miserable over gingerbread houses.
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Post by Jen in NCal on Dec 23, 2020 1:05:44 GMT
I didn't do anything for Christmas this year, but I watched this video. She has some good tips that she gathered from TikTok. |
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