What is the point of gingerbread houses?

[chaosisawayoflife]

I bought a kit in a fit of stupidity festivity, but I have no idea what the point of it is. Do you make it and have it as a decoration? Eat it in one sitting? Nibble away over a few days? I don't get it!

We make it Christmas Eve as a tradition. It normally sits untouched Christmas day as a decoration and then gets devoured during the boxing day buffet.

I never think it tastes very nice but the dc love it.

Make it, let it hang around and be admired, eventually eat it provided the gingerbread has not become rock hard. The main intention is to have a jolly time putting it all together. The reality can be getting enraged because the pieces won't stick together. If it is the IKEA one ignore instructions telling you to stick it together with sugar syrup. You need stiff proper icing. (remembers hurling my first one at the kitchen wall in frustrated fury before discovering this vital tip) . Have fun.

Not sure really. They look pretty but gingerbread always sounds nicer than it tastes.

It's the only chance some of us get of owning our own house Chaos

we use it as a sort of advent calendar.
the dc are allowed to break one sweet off each day.

Chaos

You show some imagination and individuality.
If its a kit, you make it up and kids decorate and eat.
I made a template last year and dd made a lovely house.
You can enter them in an international competition, obviously at the standard that is expected they are fabulous and more like mansions and hotels.

Aren't you supposed to smash them? We made one last year, admired it for a few days and then the kids had great fun taking a rolling pin to it on Xmas day after lunch. Then it was in easy to eat chunks.

The point of gingerbread houses is a way to waste an afternoon attempting to make something that vaguely resembles the picture on the box, whilst DC lick icing off their fingers, tshirts, tablecloths etc.

It then goes on the side as a decoration and also a kind of game. Whenever you pass the gingerbread house, you have to try to take a sneaky nibble without anyone seeing you. If I catch the DC nibbling, they get told off; if they catch me, I am just checking it hasn't gone off yet

Eventually large chunks will be obviously missing and everyone blames the cat. This is the end of the game and we all scoff what is left of the house.

We make one.The kids decorate it. I twitch at their laissez faire approach.

It sits on a kitchen shelf and goes in the bin at New Year.

We do pretty much the same as krabby.

We've got a crispy house kit from Asda this year too....should be erm, interesting making all the bits to put it together and then the girls will chuck sweets at that too

We make ours from a recipe on bbc website but use a different template its really yum actually with orange matchmakers, smarties and white chocolate buttons stuck on with melted choc. I put boiled sweets in the window when I bake it for stained glass efect and put a tea light inside to make the windows glow. It looks nice (ish) in an amateur way, is a tradition to decorate it close to christmas (this will be 3rd year), and it tastes pretty good.

We bash it up somewhere between christmas day and new years day and eat it over a few days, it lasts pretty well.