I have a confession: Although I am a crafter by trade, I have never made a gingerbread house. So when I spotted cute cottages assembled from graham crackers at a charity event, I knew I had found my medium. The cookies are a breeze to work with, and I loved the idea of skipping the baking and getting right to the decorating.
Putting the houses together takes no time, so you can make a few before a holiday party or a playdate, and then let kids adorn them. For features such as green gumdrop hedges or a blue jelly bean path, buy sweets in bulk at a candy shop or online. The cottages here are so much fun to make, you may find yourself building a neighborhood -- I did! Cover the ground with a blanket of snowy shredded coconut for a wondrous display you can enjoy all season.
To build your own cookie cottages, see Cookie Cottages How-To.
Check out the houses below for decorating ideas.
Candy Land
Pastel Village
Peppermint Place
Woodsy Hideaway
Tiny Tudor
Creature Comforts
We made these when my daughter was in preschool using a very small (empty
When my son was in grade school, he made these for his teacher gifts. what a hit!
What a hit! I did this project with two 8 and 9 year old boys - they had a blast. We had to run to the store to get more supplies because we were having such fun. Said one, "this is the first time I've ever heard a grown-up say 'we NEED to buy candy'!" I recommend getting a couple of boxes of graham crackers as they went through them quickly.