I love traditions and have a couple that are associated with gingerbread houses. Each year since my kids were around five, we have built and decorated gingerbread houses. I have also been to see the mind-blowing gingerbread display in downtown Seattle for many years – yes, that is Seahawks stadium made from gingerbread with jelly bean fans below!
This year, we involved the grandparents who had never built a gingerbread house it was fun. My youngest son who is 16 and very artistic selected the gingerbread dog house and spent probably 30 minutes creating meticulous frosting windows before he realized that he was working on the roof since we decorate before we assemble – see pro tip below. His was still the best of the bunch but they all turned out great and more importantly, we had a great time.
Pro decorating tips:
- decorate the house before assembling – so much easier to do more intricate designs
- purchase the cheaper gingerbread house kits and then supplement with your own candy to decorate – I ordered from JOANNs and think I paid around $10 each
- use hot glue to assemble the house or repair if any of the pieces are broken – my oldest son is a purist and takes issue with this step
- look at other peoples designs to get ideas for various materials
- don’t eat them – the gingerbread is terrible but you can pick off the candies if you are desperate as my young son did one year
- have fun!
Covid put the kibosh on the Seattle gingerbread display this year so I am revisiting some pictures from previous years. They usually follow a theme like superheroes, Seattle, or Grinch and they are unbelievable! Hopefully, they will be back next year and I think that many other cities have these so be sure to check your area.
I hope that you have a wonderful holiday season filled with tradition, great food and of course, family!
