What better way to celebrate the holiday season than with some friendly competition! Every year we host a Gingerbread House Contest at our house with friends. In the past, it has been just for adults but we are going to start opening it up to kids next year, as we all have little ones now. Obviously, it can be done however you like! I have added some tips and tricks to help you get started with your own event below. This annual tradition is sure to make your holiday season merry and bright! So, let’s get to it!
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The Basics
To be fully prepared for your event you will need to have the following ready and/or delegated to another member of the group:
- work space
- house foundation
- the walls
- icing for glue
- embellishments/candy
- rules
- score cards
- refreshments
For our events we usually have about 6-8 couples and we build in teams. You can do individuals or even bigger groups depending on space and relationships. We end up using two large rectangle tables and a few chairs, as most people prefer to stand and build. To make sure we have enough work space and to keep our tables clean, we cut out pieces of cardboard all the same size for each gingerbread house foundation. This allows people to take their house home and provides a basic perimeter for building.
Structural Elements
There are multiple ways to go about the actual gingerbread pieces. One year we baked all of the pieces for our guests and another year, they brought their own (homemade and store-bought kits). Both were fun and worked out well for everyone. If you end up baking the wall pieces for your guests, here are some tips that helped us get through smoothly. It’s A LOT of baking.
- Set aside around 2-3 hours to mix, cut, and bake a gingerbread recipe SPECIFICALLY for gingerbread houses. They need to be hard.
- Cut out the basic pieces needed to build a house using cardboard.
- side wall/roof slant, front and back with pointed top, door*, window* *OPTIONAL
- one cardboard of each shape allows you to cut multiple pieces of the same side
- Each person/team will need 2 side walls, 2 roof slants, 2 peaked front/backs but MAKE EXTRA in case someone breaks theirs *cough* us every year *cough*.
- Make a glue grade icing recipe to adhere pieces together. We used a quart size bag for each house.
- Buy some regular frosting for house painting. One tub of frosting was good for about two of our houses, but it depends on the size of the house and if people wanted to fully cover it. Plus, food coloring.
- Either buy the embellishments yourself or have everyone bring some to the event. We made a list of all the classic gingerbread house embellishments, sent that out to our guests and each one signed up for which one they were going to supply for the group.
- gum drops
- mini candy canes
- m&ms
- sprinkles
- peppermints
- marshmallows
- Pull n Peel Twizzlers
- mini chocolate rectangles
- mini Reese’s cups
Rules and Regulations
So our rules and scoring change every time but here are some ideas to think about when you establish your contest guidelines:
- Is there a size limit on the house? We used the carboard foundation to limit their build to just that area but were allowed to build up as high as they wanted.
- Set a time limit for the builds otherwise you may have people spending all night adding to their build while the rest are waiting. It also makes it more fun with a little pressure!
- Can they use non-edible accents (i.e. mini figurines, ornaments, Lego, etc.)?
- Is there a theme? Maybe different every year or everyone does their own thing?
- Can they plan ahead of time or pre-make anything before the party?
- What will be judged for the contest? One of these, all of the above, or something new!
- appearance
- structure
- creativity
- How will the houses be judged? We use a tally system. You’re not allowed to vote for your own and must vote a house for all three categories. A winner from each category will be made from the most votes.
- Is there a prize? Some ideas are small gifts, baked goods, alcohol, a ribbon/medal, or a $$$ pot that everyone contributes to.
Have Fun!
Don’t forget the “friendly” in friendly competition. Hosting a Gingerbread House Contest is a great way to make the holidays more fun and do something outside the box with your loved ones. Make it a party by having refreshments and take lots of pictures to remember the great times had by all. I hope your event goes as wonderfully as ours have and you find ways to make it your own holiday tradition. Merry Christmas!
For more holiday tradition ideas check out some of my friends’ blogs below:
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This sounds like so much fun!!
Love this! Gingerbread Houses was never a thing I did growing up but my mom bought a little kit for my daughter (who is 2) and her friend (who is 3), so I can’t wait to see how that goes. Might have to add it as a new tradition with my growing family.
That is such a fun activity to do with the family.
I never thought about this! What a fun idea. Some wine and voilà! Love it.
Happy holidays, Alex!
Wow that’s such a fun idea..loved the pictures..all the houses look so awesome.
I love this! I love seeing large friends and families do fun activities like this during the holidays.
This looks and sounds like soooo much fun!! I need to try and get organized so I can do this with some of my friends or for my kids and their friends!