Gingerbread house

[fin54]

We have decided to do a gingerbread house this year, buying lakeland's but would like to decorate it ourselves, anyone got any tips on what to use for this as I have never did anything like this before, so far I have only come up with chocolate buttons for the roof. really do need help as I have no imagination

smarties,icing, jelly sweets

pink musk sticks are good, those green leaf jellies, smarties, little candy canes are a must, and royal icing. Use sewing pins to hold it together while it dries (make sure you count how many you use and get them all out again though)

White chocolate or royal icing for snow.

Marshmallow snowmen (hold together with toothpicks, and make hat from large fruit pastille sliced in half longways)

after eights (or non-Nestle equiv) for roof tiles and chimney - use stretched out marshmallows for smoke.

Curly - wurly fences

Will think of more

Those ready made gingerbread slabs you get in the kits are vile. We bought dd the John Lewis decorate yourself train last year and it all went in the bin. If you don't plan on eating it though, they are tremendous Christmassy fun.

Lollipop trees

I made a "pond" by baking a gingerbread biscuit in pond shape (middle cut out) - half way through baking break up blue/transparent boiled sweets, place in hole and put back in oven. Must be done on greaseproof paper. Cover edges in white chocolate/icing.

It's quite easy to make your own gingerbread shapes, mind, and then you can make stained glass windows by using the boiled sweet method above.

It's quite easy to make your own gingerbread shapes, mind, and then you can make stained glass windows by using the boiled sweet method above.

OH these tips are fantastic, keep the coming please.

Or go to Lidl, buy a kit for £4.99 and make that. All that is needed is an egg white and cocktail sticks.

Fill with Jelly Belly jelly beans

Anyone know where you can buy some cutters? I want to make one with my nephew as he loves getting me to cook with him and I'd prefer to make our own.

Will be fun as I can't use my crutches when cooking so am always in agony when I've finished cooking with him but his pride afterwards is worth it!

Decuisine.co.uk - gingerbread house (Nordic Ware) tin.

Have I cheated here?

This has now turned into a competition between my friend and I, we are both doing a gingerbread house and have decided to see who can come up with the best one, it?s only a bit of fun and nothing serious, but I feel a little bit of a fraud getting your hints and tips on here, we did say we could search the net for clue's etc.
P.S. I had asked about the decoration on MS before we came up with the competition thing

Tink, I've never used cutters - just made a paper template, and cut round it with a knife - do the rolling and cutting at a table so you can sit down. When assembling, use tins of beans (or the like) to hold the walls upright while the joins set.

Thanks Habbibu I had thought about about that but wasn't sure how it would work, it would have been my fall back if I couldn't find cutters.

I have a Santa and Sleigh cookie set, might make that with him too.

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Cheap (£1.99) gingerbread house kits in Ikea too if you've got one near you, for anyone else feeling inspired.

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If you do make your own unless you have a big tin don't put it together too soon - we did one for a leaving do the day before and we had a sudden crisis trying to find something airtight that was big enough to put it in so it wouldn't go soggy!
We also just made paper templates to cut round, no trouble at all.