One of our family's favorite holiday memories is baking our own gingerbread houses to decorate with family and friends. There are plenty of kits available that provide you with pre-made everything including house pieces, icing, and candy bits, but part of the fun is creating a home that is uniquely your own with the accents and accessories that make you happy.

 

There is nothing like the smell of gingerbread baking to say the holidays have arrived in your home. Not only does that aroma fill the house on baking day, it stays with your creation all season long. This recipe is fairly simple to make and will give you a firm foundation for your house.  It's also quite tasty and makes for delicious discards that we would sometime create just to eat. 

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While royal icing can be messy to make, it's actually quite easy to prepare.  Humidity can be a factor in the set-up of your icing, but a little patience makes even the most delicate of constructions come out delicious.

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Unlike Hansel and Gretel in the old story, you will not want to eat this house- you may be tempted to do so because it looks so delicious!  Fortunately the process is easy enough to make extra pieces to enjoy creating, decorating, and eating.

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Your house may not be perfect, but it will be all yours.  Like all other houses, it's the love that you put into creating it that makes it beautiful. And of course, like everything else, practice makes perfect, so the more you make, the better they become. Holiday magic and  pride of ownership always made ours a little more beautiful as well.

 

I hope your family enjoys this tradition as much as mine. If you have questions or need any help with your house, message me- I'm always happy to help.