Gingerbread houses for Christmas fayre?

[letmehelp]

I said I'd bake for the church fayre. I can bake, but am not good at decorating (even fairy cakes )

Usually I make a few fruit or maderia cakes that don't need decorating and I have done gingerbread men, which seem to sell well.

Gingerbread houses have become a bit of a tradition in our house since we made one from a kit when the DC were very small (we've now graduated to making the gingerbread ourselves - tastes much better!)

Anyway I was thinking I could make some small, individual houses for the stall this year (maybe 4in square?) What do you think and what would you charge?

DS2 wants to make them as gifts for his teacher too, good idea?

I think that's a fab idea. I'm sure they'd sell well. I'm sure DS's techer would appeciate him making her one too.

Can I ask you some gingerbread house related questions in return? What do you "do" with your gingerbread houses at home? Do you eat them or just display them? If you do eat them (I'm guessing you do) how far in advance do you make them and what do you keep them in when they're not out looking pretty? How long can they stay out on display before they start going soggy? Sorry to be so thick!

Thanks House. Yes we definitely eat them. The gingerbread actually keeps well for a month or more. I usually make the gingerbread pieces a week or so before Christmas, then DC and I build and decorate it once the school hols start. I just keep it on the side covered in foil until it's gone. If it does hang around it can go a bit soft, but still tastes good

Last year I made a huge one to take to my DSis (there were 16 of us) it didn't last past boxing day!

Thank you! I shall make one with the DSs. For some reason I've always wanted to make one using boiled sweets to create stained glass windows.

Ohh, now that is a good idea for my miniatures, will be hard to add many sweets, but that will give some colour. Do you mean making holes for the windows and filling them with crushed boiled sweets before baking? Have you done it before? I worry that it would be impossible to get off the baking tray.

Bake them on greaseproof paper and they peel off just fine.

DD and I plan to do these for the Christmas Fayre .

I've got greaseproof silicone paper (non stick) and big heavy baking trays.
Don't plan to do stained glass sweet windows, just 2 rectangles for roof, 2 for sides and 2 gable ends.

Thick icing and sweeties to decorate. Then place in a clear cellophane Lakeland Limited bag.
They don't charge alot for cakes and biscuits at the school, so no gold leaf or Lindt Chocolate

BTW would royal icing or glace be best for glueing together?

If you have the time and inclination you could make one 'sample' house and then make kits containing the gingerbread pieces along with assembly instructions. A Mum at our old school did this and charged £5 per kit. She made up a number of them for the fair and then took orders.
Reminds me that we need to find a way of purchasing one from her this year.

Lord, I always use the instant Royal Icing Sugar It's not quite as stiff and doesn't set as hard as if you make it with egg whites (and is less faff) but it looks more snowy and gives more support than glace icing.

Wouldn't impress me. I wouldn't know how to eat it. Wouldn't really want to, there's so much gubbins on those things.

Maybe you could make one with a gingerbread bulldozer and wrecking ball Pointydog.

I would be concerned about how much time and money this is going to cost you- you ideally want to cover your materials and make some profit for church funds...
I'd prefer mini ones, definitely- the big ones seem like suck a lot of gingerbread to eat!

Do you have a template yu use?

I love gingerbread houses. we always do one at home. But a lot of the fun is in the making and decorating. it may be hard to make money on gingerbread houses - so much ingredients, care and attention to make each one, then maybe hard to sell at a price that would make a 'profit'.

One year I made mini gingerbread houses for school fair for out of soft gingerbread - the cake kind:

Baked a big tin, fairly deep, cut it into cubes (about 1.5 inch square) then cut some more gingerbread into roof shapes (two right angle triangle prisms to be precise) and stuck them on with apricot jam. then put a piece of rolled out white icing on top for a snowy roof. Stick half a matchmaker in for a chimney and some minimal decoration on the edges (silver balls, a wiggle of red icing etc..) and ta da, you can mass produce 30 houses no problem.

Or do flat gingerbread house shapes with sweetie decorations on.

What is really fun for kids fairs is decorate your own mini-houses and gingerbread men.

(by flat I mean - house shaped gingerbread biscuits)...

mirth

Just make a flatpack house kit call it biscuits.

crikey and now I've read himalyaya's and he says the same thing. We are as one.

actually I'm a she

Do you think they'd be good as a raffle prize at a fair? (Have been trying to think of an excuse to make one this Christmas as I love them so much but we never really eat them so it seems a waste!!!)

Meant to write 'she', keyboard slip. Nothign to do with your manly gingerbread chat

To be honest, takver, I'd rather win a box of roses or a bottle of lambrusco.

I think you're right, pointy

Its a shame as I like making gingerbread houses but none of us really likes gingerbread that much!!