What can be more fun that creating with your friends at Christmas? Over the last few years we've been hosting parties to make and decorate gingerbread houses. This year we added a cookie decorating option for those who didn't want to try to get four walls to stand up. Every year we have a good time and see some very creative variations on the traditional house.
For houses I use a mini gingerbread house kit that my mom got me years and years ago. It's pretty basic, so you don't really need the cutters, you could just cut pieces from a template with a knife if you wanted to. The advantage of the small kit is that it doesn't take nearly as much time or icing to decorate.
I've collected a variety of decorating supplies each year. Some of the things we've used include: chocolate chips (different sizes and flavors), m&ms, gumdrops, gummy bears, marshmallows (this year there were all kinds of choices, including gingerbread men), candy snowflakes, sprinkles of all shapes and sizes, colored sugar, licorice (also comes in all shapes and colors), ribbon candy, pretzel sticks, candy canes, almonds, powdered sugar, red hots, and wafer cookies.
Some tips for hosting your own decoration party:
- Use a gingerbread recipe that bakes firm (I use the Molasses Cookie recipe from the 1959 Farm Journal Country Cookbook)
- Look for interesting supplies. This year I found candy eyes!
- Cut out bases from cardstock for people to build the houses on. Half the fun is decorating the "yard" and it makes it easier to take the house home.
- Basic powder sugar icing (powder sugar + milk + vanilla) is great for "glue" and can be made in small batches quickly.
- Splurge on decorating tips, including extra couplers so that your guests can control the icing better. While ziploc bags with holes in the corner are fun and often funny, they can make things difficult.
- Be OK with finding icing all over your kitchen for a few weeks. Getting messy is half the fun!
Here are some of the awesome creations from the last few years (and there are more if you click on the pictures and follow the link to my Flickr page).
