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Christmas

IKEA gingerbread house

109 replies

SCargot · 07/12/2009 14:14

is bargainous

OP posts:
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LillianGish · 08/12/2009 18:41

My advice would be you construct it and when it's stuck really hard (after a couple of days leaving it to set) dd can help decorate it.

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midnightexpress · 08/12/2009 18:44

MrsB, I have dithered and come down on the side of doing it myself. Otherwise I foresee only broken gingerbread and ds2 eating all the smarties while I get twitchy and over-hovery.

Having said that, we had a triumphant mince pie making session this afternoon. The secret of success is a rolling pin, a jar of mincemeat and a baking tin EACH.

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garciasangria · 08/12/2009 22:57

Well, my £25 house arrived this afternoon, and the gingerbread's all smashed in bits

If it was just a crack or 2, I'd ice it togther, but it's in about 200 pieces. And the little gingerbread man looks like a double amputee.

It's such a shame, because it smells divine, and has loads of fantastic sweeties.

I've emailed the Amazon seller to ask if they can send one tomorrow on a next day delivery, so I can have it for the weekend....I stupidly told DD about it, who texted her friend, and they're ridiculously excited about decorating it. I can see a desperate trip to Lidl (no Ikea near here), or horror of horrors, I'm going to have to make my own gingerbread.

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spicemonster · 08/12/2009 23:06

No, no, no, go to Lidl! I got mine for £5 - all I needed to buy was icing sugar, egg white and cocktail sticks to hold it all together.

It's here: img697.imageshack.us/img697/378/pc020410.jpg

I made it and did the icing and my 2 YO stuck on the sweeties

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garciasangria · 09/12/2009 00:36

Spicemonster, yours is FAB!!
Sorted then, trip to Lidl on way to work in the morning.
decorate it all by myself

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cloudspotter · 09/12/2009 01:31

Right, am off to Lidl or IKEA tomorrow. We made one with teh burnt sugar thing one year, or should I say dh and dbil did.

It was a nightmare - had no idea you could use icing. doh.

Armed with that knowledge I am preparing to give it another go this year.

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Georgimama · 09/12/2009 06:31

Haven't done mine yet (booked wrong day for internet shop ) - could someone clarify the cocktail stick thing - do you mean you actually push them through the gingerbread? Doesn't it crack?

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girlsyearapart · 09/12/2009 06:41

Thank the lord for this thread. Have had the Ikea one for 2 weeks and have been putting it off due to bad visions of what happens with the boiled sugar combined with two v small children..

Icing it is hurrah

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spicemonster · 09/12/2009 08:34

My gingerbread was quite soft but instructions recommend that you put it in the oven for a few minutes if it's gone hard. I recommend cutting the cocktail sticks to the appropriate length before you put the in though otherwise they fly off around the room and they're quite sharp

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Georgimama · 09/12/2009 08:47

They should supply a print out of this thread with every box - icing not boiled sugar (I will admit, I was also procrastinating due to thought of boiled sugar in combo with me, DS and my new saucepans) and pre-trimmed cocktail sticks for stability. My gingerbread house is now in with a fighting chance.

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DarrellRivers · 09/12/2009 08:58

I second the cocktail sticks for stability
I do like hoholepew's house

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Avadtoomucheggnoglatte · 09/12/2009 09:03

My ikea one was smashed to pieces, the nearest store is over 100 miles away. Bah. I'm off to TKMaxx to buy a ready made one and pass it off as my own

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DisElfchanted3 · 09/12/2009 09:06

Awww I want one! Ikea too far away

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MrsBadger · 09/12/2009 09:33

avada Waitrose also have them

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TillyMintSpy · 09/12/2009 10:50

Wow! I'm very impressed with all your houses.

My IKEA one is waiting in the cupboard - maybe I will pop into Sainsbo's and buy some royal icing so DD and her BF can stick it together tonight. And some sweeties to stick on, and those cake decorations. It's turning into quite an expensive activity.....

Do you think tow 10year olds would be able to do it with some help?

How long does it take to stick together and dry out?

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Avadtoomucheggnoglatte · 09/12/2009 14:52

Thanks MrsBadger that looks great but no Waitrose

Toying with the idea of making one from cardboard, smothering in icing and then decorating, we don't eat them anyway, would that be tacky?

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CocoK · 09/12/2009 15:10

Well, our last homemade one sagged and sagged and finally collapsed under the weight of smarties and jellies and whatever it all was - definitely key to get the gingerbread crispy and hard.

Otherwise, my top tips are to ALWAYS DECORATE BEFORE YOU BUILD, as it can otherwise get, well, very tricky to get the sweeties to stick.

If you want 'real' windows, stick sheets of gelatine on the inside of the walls over the window with icing sugar (agree melted sugar is health hazard on many levels). Looks fab with a lit pocket torch inside.

To create winter wonderland, place house on carboard/tray, surround with cotton wool 'snow' for little santas etc to frolic in, possibly arranged around a small 'frozen lake' mirror. Looks great, although your house might end up a bit cotton woolly.

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CocoK · 09/12/2009 15:13
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CocoK · 09/12/2009 15:14

(er, not mine - sadly)

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TillyMintSpy · 09/12/2009 17:43

Well I made some of your icing glue PacificMistletoe, and somehow propped it together with mugs (I couldn't work out how to use tooth picks) and it's set!!!

We will ice it and stick on sweeties tomorrow or Friday

So where should I store it? I haven't got a cake tin big enough.

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TillyMintSpy · 09/12/2009 17:45

OOps, read your post too late CocoK!

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sherby · 09/12/2009 17:56

We do tesco one

about a tenner and has everything in it

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PacificMistletoeandnoWine · 09/12/2009 21:09

Tilly, just leave it out to dry out, you do not need a tin.
Whenever you decide its time has come you break it in pieces and put the pieces in a tin either with an egg cup of water or slices of apple for a couple of days and it goes soft again.


Contrary to CocoK, I would build, let set (overnight) and then decorate, although I can see the merit of her approach.

I am dying to show off my Lidl house but cannot figure out how to

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MrsBadger · 10/12/2009 09:50

I opened the Lidl house last night and it is way different to the Ikea one

Ikea one is made of thin crispy (breakable) biscuit - no way you'd ever be able to stick toothpicks in it, and hence why I'd been advising buying two as one always smashes.
Has no base and complex 3d chimney, but is easy to build as biscuits are light so weight of roof will not collapse walls unless you are v hamfisted.
Also has ready-cut windows for people who want to make stained glass / put torch inside etc.

Lidl one is thick and cakey, more like lebkuchen, and would probably dent rather than shatter if dropped.
I can see how the toothpicks will work but none of the bits are quite square so it's going to need some serious trimming if it is ever to stand up straight. I like the fact it has a base though.
Can quite see this would need building and leaving to set rock solid before decorating as the sheer weigth of the bits means it needs to stabilise before letting kids loose on it.
Lidl one also has no windows, much less space inside for torches, lights etc and a non-3D chimney.
But it does come with tree, santa and sweets.

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MrsBadger · 10/12/2009 09:52

NB Tilly the Ikea one starts off crispy and will stay crispy so do not worry about putting it in a tin with apple etc, just eats it as the fancy takes you

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