How to Throw a Gingerbread House Party
Friends, today I have a fantastic holiday party idea to share with you.
I want you to throw a gingerbread house party!
It’s super-fun. People love it. It can even get a little competitive.
I’m going to give you the run-down on my party and all the tips you need to throw a successful house-building party of your own, so let’s get started.
invitations. This is a no-brainer first step. I chose to use a simple evite. You could invite friends through Facebook, or even go old school and invite people through the mail (this gingerbread invitation is adorable!). Make sure you stress the importance of RSVPs so that you have enough house materials.
planning. here’s what you’re going to need:
gingerbread. you can make this yourself (i used a tutorial from King Arthur Flour) or use the graham cracker method. i’d suggest baking the gingerbread or cutting the graham crackers before the party to speed up the process and make things easy for everyone, especially first-timers.
frosting/icing/glue. royal icing works the best, seriously. you shouldn’t have any issues with falling houses. also, make sure you have some plastic piping bags or zip top bags for each person or family building a house.
building surfaces. i used squares of cardboard covered with aluminum foil. i numbered them with stickers in each corner to make voting easier later.
candy. lots and lots of candy! i asked my guest to bring candy with them. this is a great way to involve them in the preparation- people are always asking what to bring, right? i like to save my extra Halloween candy for this purpose, too.
voting materials. all you need here is a jar, a pen and some small pieces of paper. a prize for the winner is great, too- nothing big necessary (we made a giant gingerbread man).
Here are some ideas if you’d like to add a simple little dessert bar:
Peppermints and Peppermint Sticks
I’ll be sharing more about these recipes later this week.
before/as guests arrive: set out small bowls or empty egg containers to put candy in. napkins or paper towels are a good idea, too- things can get messy! arrange a space for party-goers to pick up their building surfaces, frosting tubes and gingerbread pieces. when your guests arrive, help them to grab their supplies and empty their candy into containers. explain the basics to newcomers and let them get to building. you can set a time limit if you’re getting really serious about things, but if not, just have a rough idea in your mind of when you’d like to wrap up the decorating. people can really get into it and might decorate all day if you let them! as folks finish their houses, line them up together in a little gingerbread neighborhood and allow people to check them all out before they vote for their favorite.
Here’s a little shot of our winner (and our little man chewing on his prize). It wasn’t rigged, I promise! We even had two rounds of voting. He can’t help it.. he’s an engineer.
Those are the basics, folks. Now get to building- there’s still time for a little fun before this Christmas. Anyone have any questions? Ideas for next year’s party?
Natalie, So cute! Love this idea. And, um, I love the Gingerbread Bundt at the dessert bar!! 🙂 – mary the food librarian and crazy bundt lady
We have a yearly gingerbread contest with my husband’s college students. It’s a great way for them to feel a little more at ease at their professor’s house, and it’s also a great stress-reliever during finals. We use graham crackers (because they’re cheaper and easier). We also like to offer food coloring in case people would like to create some colored frosting.
I don’t think we’ve ever had a traditional house. This year’s winners were the Trojan Horse and a scene from a Goethe poem. (My husband’s a German professor.) Maybe we should try an adult gingerbread house party sometime. 🙂
so much fun! where was my invite?
That is a fabulous idea. I will have to copy you next year!
I am attempting to do this this year! Thank you so much for all the great ideas and advice, I needed it!
Blessings to you as you make your home!
~Leslie
For the last 6 years we have been hosting a gingerbread house party. We also added a soup party before the GB house party starts. We made it very simple, just 3 different kinds of soup in crock pots and several breads to munch on. It really helped offset all the sugar we consumed. Love your ideas.
Thanks for the ideas. It gets so crazy for our friends and ourselves between Thanksgiving and Christmas we have turned our Gingerbread houses into Valentine’s Day Houses. We have found that we need something to do when it bitterly cold – so it is a good excuse to have everyone over – and they enjoy getting out of the house too. I save Halloween candy, Christmas candy and we throw in conversation hearts and other hearts.
I usually give everyone a paper bowl and then they walk along the “candy bar” to select some things for their house. They are welcome to come back for more, but it keeps the crowding and mess down.
That is a great idea!! I might have to double up on parties 🙂