Now that your gingerbread house is assembled, it's time to decorate your DIY gingerbread house and bring it to life. In this section, we will provide you with various decorating ideas and decorating tips to help you create a stunning and unique gingerbread house.
Using royal icing for decorating gingerbread houses
Royal icing is not only essential for assembling your gingerbread house, but it's also perfect for decorating gingerbread houses. Here are some tips for working with royal icing while decorating:
- Consistency: Adjust the consistency of your royal icing depending on the type of decoration you're creating. For piping intricate details, use a thicker consistency, while a thinner consistency works well for flooding or filling in larger areas.
- Colors: Divide your royal icing into smaller portions and use food coloring to create a variety of colors for your decorations.
- Piping tips: Use different piping tips to create various effects, such as stars, flowers, or leaves.
- Practice: Before decorating your gingerbread house, practice your piping skills on a piece of parchment paper to get comfortable with the technique.
Creative gingerbread house decorating ideas
When it comes to gingerbread house decorating, the possibilities are endless. Here are some creative ideas to inspire your decorating process:
- Windows: Use melted hard candies to create colorful stained-glass windows, or pipe intricate window frames with royal icing.
- Roof: Create a patterned roof using various candies, such as gumdrops, licorice, or chocolate chips. You can also pipe shingles using royal icing.
- Landscaping: Use green-tinted coconut flakes for grass, and create trees or bushes using ice cream cones and green royal icing.
- Characters: Add gingerbread people, animals, or other characters to bring your gingerbread house to life.
- Themes: Choose a specific theme for your gingerbread house, such as a winter wonderland, a haunted house, or a beach cottage.
How to host a gingerbread house making party
A gingerbread house making party is a fun and festive way to celebrate the holiday season with friends and family. Here are some tips for hosting a successful party:
- Invitations: Send out invitations well in advance, and include any necessary information, such as the date, time, and location of the party.
- Supplies: Provide pre-assembled gingerbread houses, royal icing, and a variety of candies and decorations for your guests to use. You can also encourage guests to bring their favorite candies or decorations to share.
- Workstations: Set up individual workstations for each guest, complete with a gingerbread house, decorating supplies, and any necessary tools, such as piping bags and spatulas.
- Activities: In addition to decorating gingerbread houses, consider incorporating other activities, such as cookie decorating or ornament making, to keep guests entertained.
- Food and drinks: Offer a selection of festive snacks and beverages for your guests to enjoy while they work on their gingerbread houses.
- Display: Create a designated area for guests to display their completed gingerbread houses, and take photos to commemorate the event.
With these decorating tips and ideas, you're well on your way to creating a beautiful and unique gingerbread house that will be the centerpiece of your holiday celebrations.
