Instead of using a box kit, look at this easy salt dough gingerbread house which you can keep year after year. Be sure you grab more ideas for winter fun on my page Winter Season Unit Study with free lapbook.
This salt dough version of a gingerbread house is far easier to make and assemble than the “edible” version which let’s face it isn’t edible at all.
Too, hot glue is much faster to work with than icing.
We are going to make our houses in the style of those lovely old-fashioned cinnamon ornaments.
Not only do they smell wonderful, but cinnamon will naturally give your gingerbread house its rich warm brown color.
You can also add more cinnamon essential oil every so often to boost the scent, it will soak right in.
Younger children can make a salt dough gingerbread house with help.
But your middle and highschooler will be able to make their whimsical creation on their own from start to finish.
However, while you are working on your gingerbread house why not turn it into a fun mini-lesson complete with trivia, edible versions, books, and a few more hands-on activities to make it even better?
6 Facts About Gingerbread
- National Gingerbread Cookie Day is celebrated annually on November 21st.
- Historians say that the first known recipe for gingerbread came from Greece in 2400 BC.
- The largest gingerbread house ever built was made in Bryan, Texas. It stood a whopping 60 feet long, 42 feet wide, and 10.1 feet tall.
- The initial popularity of gingerbread houses in Europe was because of the Grimm story Hansel and Gretel.
- The word gingerbread is from the old French word ‘ gingerbras’ which means preserved ginger.
- It is believed that the concept of the gingerbread man was first proposed by Queen Elizabeth I, gingerbread animals were already popular, but she wanted to give little edible caricatures to nobility.
Add a living book to this fun hands-on activity.
8 Books and Resources Studying About Gingerbread
Add some of these books and resources for a gun Gingerbread theme.
The gingerbread man and woman need a new home! A team of kids struggle to create the perfect gingerbread house. The project guidelines are clear: the winning house must stand upright on its own and a gingerbread boy and girl must fit inside.Sounds easy?But creating is hard. Cookie burn, the icing it too thin, the house caves-in, someone is eating the candy decorations, and—Oh!—they forgot about putting the gingerbread boy and girl inside the house. Engineering is a creative process. That means you must learn to
- overcome problems
- and persevere.
Inspire budding engineers to think about the classic gingerbread house in new ways.
SAFE AND HEALTHY FOR YOUR FAMILY - The simple stainless steel Gingerbread House Cookie Cutter Set design is easy to clean, the folded edges are kind to hands, and the welded seam won’t come unstuck
"Run, run as fast as you can. You can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!" Follow the gingerbread man as he runs from the old woman, the old man, pig, cow, and horse, and meets a sly fox. This padded storybook of the classic fairy tale features engaging text and delightful, colorful illustrations by Gail Yerrill. Designed to encourage vocabulary development and help children read aloud, this story uses large font types and vibrant, contemporary illustrations to help early learning skills. It's a perfect addition to any children's library.
The classic tale of the old couple, with no children of their own, who bake a gingerbread boy to keep them company. Just as the little old woman is about to take him from the oven, he slips away and runs out the door past a cow, a horse, a group of threshers, mowers, etc. All follow in hot pursuit until the gingerbread boy meets up with a wily fox, and ‘at last and at last he went the way of every single gingerbread boy that ever came out of an oven . . . He was all gone!’ A wonderfully frenetic cross-country chase is depicted in Galdone’s broadly humorous color wash drawings.
Fairy tale about the Gingerbread Baby. Full-color illustrations.
The 12 different spoon sizes in this measuring cup set make it versatile for measuring a wide range of ingredients. The measuring spoons range from 1/8 tsp teaspoon up to 1 cup tablespoon, allowing you to measure small or large quantities with ease. This makes the measuring spoons set perfect for home cooks and professional chefs alike, as it can be used for a variety of recipes, from baking to cooking and more.
Gingerbread Man 3 Piece
Do you have what it takes to catch the Gingerbread Man? The famous storybook character has magically come to life and leapt from the pages during story time! Follow along as the Gingerbread Man runs loose in a bookstore with the help of Robin Hood, Sherlock Holmes, Peter Rabbit, nursery rhyme characters, and more! If you set the right traps, you might…just might be able to catch this wily cookie and finish the fairy tale!
Then here are more ideas for a gingerbread house.
More Gingerbread House Ideas
For a little variety here are a few more ways to celebrate National Gingerbread Cookie Day or any day.
- If you want to go edible here are some easy but precious Graham Cracker Gingerbread Houses to make as well.
- For younger children, this Gingerbread House Paper Bag craft is perfect and uses easy supplies you already have on hand.
- Popsicle sticks are always a fabulous craft Popsicle Stick Gingerbread House
- You could make this Gingerbread House Craft For Kids half-size, make a bunch, and create a fun garland with an entire neighborhood of gingerbread houses.
Finally, look how to make this fun gingerbread house.
How to Make a Kids Salt Dough Gingerbread House
You will need:
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup table salt
- ¾ cups cinnamon
- 1 Tablespoon cloves
- 1 Tablespoon ginger
- ¾ cup water
- Rolling pin
- Hot glue gun/sticks
- Craft paint
- Cardstock
The first thing you want to do is decide how large you want your gingerbread house or decide how many you want to make.
The recipe above creates one house that is roughly 4 1”2 inches long on each side and 5” tall.
Choose your size and then shape, cut the 4 walls and 2 roof pieces out of cardstock making sure that facing walls and roof pieces are symmetrical.
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit.
Combine all dry ingredients until well-mixed.
Add water and stir until combined, you want to add water until mixture sticks together but not sticky.
If it’s too wet add more flour, too dry add water.
Lay a silicone liner or parchment paper on a large baking sheet.
I find it’s easiest to roll the dough and cut it right on the cooking surface because moving it tends to stretch and distort the shape.
Roll your dough out pretty thin about 1/8” to 1/4” thick is good.
Lay your cardstock templates on top of the dough and cut around them using a sharp knife.
Remove excess dough from between the pieces and discard or you can use them to make extra little decor items.
Bake for 3 hours, flipping the pieces halfway through. If at the end there still seems to be moisture in the dough let them sit a bit longer in the warm oven until completely dried.
Remove it from the oven and let cool.
Now, you can either assemble and then decorate with paint or do most of your painting.
Let it dry, and then glue it together, adding additional paint to cover up your joints.
I like to paint the basics before assembling.
Hot glue one joint at a time and hold it into place until the glue sets.
Use white craft paint and a small brush or white puffy paint to add on your snowy icing.
Add a thicker amount to the peak of the roof by squeezing it right out of the bottle to cover the roof joint and make it look as if snow has piled up.
Once all the paint is dry your gingerbread house is ready to go on display.
