How to Throw a Gingerbread House Party

Friends, today I have a fantastic holiday party idea to share with you.

I want you to throw a gingerbread house party!

It's super-fun.  People love it.  It can even get a little competitive.

I'm going to give you the run-down on my party and all the tips you need to throw a successful house-building party of your own, so let's get started.

invitations. This is a no-brainer first step.  I chose to use a simple evite.  You could invite friends through Facebook, or even go old school and invite people through the mail (this gingerbread invitation is adorable!).  Make sure you stress the importance of RSVPs so that you have enough house materials.

planning.  here's what you're going to need:

gingerbread. you can make this yourself (i used a tutorial from King Arthur Flour) or use the graham cracker method. i'd suggest baking the gingerbread or cutting the graham crackers before the party to speed up the process and make things easy for everyone, especially first-timers.

frosting/icing/glue. royal icing works the best, seriously.  you shouldn't have any issues with falling houses.  also, make sure you have some plastic piping bags or zip top bags for each person or family building a house.

building surfaces. i used squares of cardboard covered with aluminum foil.  i numbered them with stickers in each corner to make voting easier later.

candy. lots and lots of candy! i asked my guest to bring candy with them.  this is a great way to involve them in the preparation- people are always asking what to bring, right?  i like to save my extra Halloween candy for this purpose, too.

voting materials. all you need here is a jar, a pen and some small pieces of paper.  a prize for the winner is great, too- nothing big necessary (we made a giant gingerbread man).

 

Here are some ideas if you'd like to add a simple little dessert bar:

Gingerbread Bundt Cake

Honey Vanilla Marshmallows

Hot Chocolate on a Stick

Peppermints and Peppermint Sticks

I'll be sharing more about these recipes later this week.

before/as guests arrive: set out small bowls or empty egg containers to put candy in.  napkins or paper towels are a good idea, too- things can get messy!  arrange a space for party-goers to pick up their building surfaces, frosting tubes and gingerbread pieces.  when your guests arrive, help them to grab their supplies and empty their candy into containers. explain the basics to newcomers and let them get to building. you can set a time limit if you're getting really serious about things, but if not, just have a rough idea in your mind of when you'd like to wrap up the decorating.  people can really get into it and might decorate all day if you let them!  as folks finish their houses, line them up together in a little gingerbread neighborhood and allow people to check them all out before they vote for their favorite.

Here's a little shot of our winner (and our little man chewing on his prize).  It wasn't rigged, I promise!  We even had two rounds of voting.  He can't help it.. he's an engineer.

Those are the basics, folks.  Now get to building- there's still time for a little fun before this Christmas.  Anyone have any questions?  Ideas for next year's party?