IKEA gingerbread house

[SCargot]

is bargainous

mine

I'm so sorry toddler, but I LOL'd at your gingerbread house
Were the birds okay?

Yeah, it was a universally acknowledged disaster. The amount of icing was to hold up the extremely heavy and dense ginger bread and then I had to ice the whole roof because it cracked...basically the more I tried to fix it, the more 'intense' a sculpture it became. I'm not really very crafty...I took the little photo diary to show my sister (who is very cooky / crafty etc). She tried to be encouraging, but well, you saw the house...

Birds didn't finish it. Picky little sods.

I've just remembered, it also had a lunch box inside to hold the sides up .

toddler, that's so funny, just the tonic I needed after the day I've had at work.

My favourite bit is the wiggly red things on the roof

And, it could be worse, you could have spent £25 (plus P+P), and then let two 11yr olds loose on it. They'll be 'decorating' it this weekend, will post some pics.

right are all tooled up for tomorrow

OK, I'm putting my culinary skills (or lack of them) where my mouth is. Have done an internet shop and ordered royal icing, dolly mixtures and smarties. Let battle commence.

oooo we are going to ikea tomorrow, might give it a go....

I must confess that my first attempt at making one of these was so bloody terrible that I told everyone that my 2 year old nephews had decorated it!

Making trees to go around the outside is easy- just cut two tree shapes out of biscuit cutters, then slice a section out of each bit so that one will slot into the other when it's cooked. Then drizzle icing over it!

Good luck everyone )

Heres my attempt www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/view/22784764 I used icing to stick it together too, I did not trust myself with boiling sugar!

lanis

i like yours

mine is dead
sausges set smoke alarm of and the wall fell off ( the housenot OUR hosue)

That must be some smoke alarm!

Mine is dead too, subsidence, and toddler damage.........

oh oh just seen this. I got one a couple of weeks ago but haven't put it together yet. Can I join in? Have got writing icing, smarties, jelly tots and jelly beans.

Am now kicking myself for not getting two as someone suggested earlier in case of breakages.

Larfing at scargot's smoke alarm. Was no huffing and puffing involved?

Scargot your gingerbread house had a smoke alarm?

my effort

yes and an oven

We did gingerbread house from Lidl - was about a fiver, but came with icing Santa, snowman and Chrstmas tree !

For cement: mix 1 egg white with approx. 350g (10-11 oz) icing sugar, v easy, use a few drops of water/lemon juice if it is not soft enough.
Piping bag can be made out of greasproof paper rolled into funnel shape IYKWIM.
VERY VERY IMPORTANT: for structural stability use cocktail sticks/tooth picks to stick the house parts together with icing as glue.

Leave over night. Icing will dry rock hard.
Then, and only then, let children anywhere near it .

Decorate as you will.

And of course you should jolly well eat it; what's the point otherwise??
We tend to keep it until Christmas, then take apart, if rockhard put into airtight tin/plastic container with a few slices of apple: after a couple of days, voila, soft delicious gingerbread with apple flavour!

Yes, I take gingerbread house making v seriously, it has a long tradition in my family...

oh tits i am a snivelling failure
boys now decorating the flat pack roof things

SCargot - thank you so much for starting this thread I have never laughed so much.
Hohoholepew - that takes the biscuit . Opening your photo will go down as one of my favourite Mumsnet moments.

right I now have £5 Lidl house

looks more complex than my previous Ikea efforts

royal icing on shopping list

am dithering between letting dd be involved and doing it all myself to present it complete as a present from FAther Christmas or similar