Has anyone ever made a gingerbread house?

[lucysmam]

& if so, how difficult was it?

I've been debating making one for BIL and his gf as neither like xmas cake & I'm in charge of them this year

How long did it take to make?
How is i constructed & what do you use to hold the bits together?

Am hoping someone with a bit more experience than me can offer some pointers or tell me if it's fairly simple to make

TIA

[Anna8888]

I bought a brilliant kit two years ago - the gingerbread pieces were made and baked, and all you had to do was mix up the icing and choose your own sweets to stick on it.

It was so popular that I bought a second one that my younger DSS made up on his own and took into school on the last day of term - he was so proud.

I expect if you Google you'll find a recipe and instructions somewhere.

[Chocolateteapot]

No I am too much of a wimp to make the whole thing from scratch. Lidl sell a kit for £5 so used that last year and the year before forked out three times that to get one from GLTC/

[marmadukescarlet]

I cheat nowadays and buy a few ikea ones at some ridiculously low price.

I always buy a few extra kits to make up for breakages. I nned to make 3 so I buy 5.

The DC love doing them, but I do not use boiled sugar as stated on pack - burn warning! I just make royal icing.

[chapstickchick]

i made one entirely on a whim it was very easy and my ds3 loved it - there is a load of advice on the internet but i just did mine rough and it looked fab!!.

Boots sold a kit last yeat for £15 but it was easy enough to make your own-i think the only error i made was not realising the roof panel had to be twice as long as the side panel.....so i patched ours up with those german xmas biscuits.

I used a ready mixed icing pen and melted chocolate to stick it together but coctail sticks are handy to 'hold'it together while it sets.

We are making a haunted one for halloween with a hole cut out of the cake board under so i can put a tea light inside so it glows up..........

[chapstickchick]

i have found a recipe!!!
complete with templates and instructions.
its a lesley waters one from'good food' dec 2005......do u want a copy?
i can put instructions on here if you like?

[Carmenere]

Do it, they are easy and great fun.

[AbbeyA]

I often do one at Christmas, they are very easy to do from scratch. I am going to try this BBC one this Christmas.
this page

[littleducks]

I bought one from ikea on a whim, wasnt that tasty but looked quite good, i did use the sugar syrup and managed to burn a silicone spoon so would agree royal icing perhaps a better idea

it was broken in the box as well

[lucysmam]

Wow! I didn't expect soooo many responses!

If it's really that simple I'll do one for us as well then

chapstickchick, yeah please. Any instructions would be great

Thank-you all

[ForeverOptimistic]

If you are doing it with children be prepared for a lot of sticky mess!

[flatmouse]

Lakeland are doing one this year that you buy the kit and stick it togehter. I've asked for a gingerbread train kit - but i don't want to buy gingerbread ready-made, i'd rather recipe and templates.

Here's what the kids and i did last year - gingerbread train - we made gingerbread and templates ourselves.

[[www.hoorray.com/sharedPhotos_pub.shared?sid=2072&uid=GzXpAh.50408.2096841293]

[flatmouse]

oops

www.hoorray.com/sharedPhotos_pub.shared?sid=2072&uid=GzXpAh.50408.2096841293

[ShinyPinkShoes]

I make one every year using the Ikea Kit which is about £2-£3!

[chapstickchick]

abbey as instructions are v similar to what i hve ......thanks abbey

[lucysmam]

I always expect a sticky mess when I'm in the kitchen anyways ForeverOptimistic! Kids can't be much worse.

ShinyPinkShoes, do Ikea deliver?

flatmouse, the train is brill! I do wish I was that creative but I think a simple house is about as good as it's going to get atm!

[geekgirl]

lucysmam you know they're not really meant for eating though, don't you? (you mentioned having one as a replacement for a Christmas cake)
They're really purely for decoration (other than the sweeties of course) as the actual gingerbread is rock hard & stale.

[flatmouse]

the train was such fun - made total mess (kids) making gingerbread - and i had no idea of quantities to make!! We made cardboard templates and round biscuit cutters, then glued it all togehter with glace icing.

It was DS's idea to put in the train driver! and the coal is choc covered raisins

[flatmouse]

ooh and this year (having got a reindeer biscuit cutter) i'm debating attempting a gingerbread reindeer/sleigh/pressies/father christmas (i do like keeping things simple! )

[PuzzleRocks]

A neighbour of mine made one. It made the front page of the local newspaper. It got bumped the next week though by a story about the disappearance of two local kids, Hansel and Gretel.

[NorbertDentressangle]

I like the sound of the DC making and decorating some .

When do Ikea start selling them?

[Charlee]

I brought a really good kit from Tesco last year, the gingerbread bits were all ready made but in peices and i had to ice them together and decorate it, it wasn't at all hard but looked fantastic and the kids were able to join in!

[arfur]

Went to get one from Ikea (Bristol) last week but not in yet suppose could try making my own .....

[LunarSea]

The Ikea ones were in stock in COventry last night.

[lucysmam]

oooh flatmouse, they sound lovely!

geekgirl. It was just something to give them as a token iyswim rather than a cake which would be wasted since neither eats it. At least with something like this it will look nice & is just meant to be looked at so not going to waste (I hope that made sense to someone )

If lots fof places get kits in & they're failry inepensive (which by the sounds of it they are) I may well go hunting for one a bit closer to the time. Although may still make one just to experiment & see how it turns out (just for fun) & then eat the sweets off it that night