8 Tips to Make Gingerbread House Decorating MORE Fun and LESS Chaotic with Kids!

Call me crazy but I always look forward to our family time of decorating gingerbread houses! I’ve learned to be realistic with what this activity with 4 kids can turn into! I wanted to share 8 tips that I’ve done over the years that have helped make it LESS chaotic and MORE fun!
If you are wanting to incorporate this festive activity into your family traditions… try some of these things! I want to help you enjoy it more!

TIP 1.
I love to get a seasonal vinyl tablecloth and TAPE it to the table. We don’t want to risk any ::I’m falling off the table and grab the tablecloth and all is destroyed:: moments. (we ALMOST had that happen once.) I do this for most kid activities at the table where I use a tablecloth. I used to have a tablecloth from ETSY that fit out circle IKEA table and had elastic on it!! It automatically fit it snug and secure: genius! We have a large table this year so good ol’ shipping tape did the trick.

TIP 2.
Hot Glue your Gingerbread houses before you decorate!!!!! I know that for some people, they like to eat their creations…but for us we just sneak the candy while we decorate and then bake other yummy stuff to eat during the season! Our houses are a fun activity to make and then enjoy looking at. I have some aggressive decorators, so hot glue is a must for us.

TIP 3.
BUY your gingerbread houses! I know some people bake their own but I have found that grabbing the houses at Aldi’s or on sale at Michael’s has saved me a lot of time and they are pretty sturdy! We also try different house designs which is fun. This year we had a Barn, Manor, PJ Masks house and the classic cottage! ;) If you open them and something is cracked…no worries… we just hot glue the piece back together and it’s good as new!

TIP 4.
Have your candy decorations opened and in containers BEFORE you start! If I just had one kid I could manage opening a candy or icing pack while helping…..but with multiple kids, and I usually do this solo, I need to prepare for everyone wanting to dive in all at the same time! So I like to have all my candy and icing out ready for them to use. I use two lazy-suzan type trays (they were from Walmart’s summer better homes and garden line!) and I use little paper containers (Walmart and Hobby Lobby) to hold the treats. This is handy when kids are working on a certain area and want to use the same type of candy for a big space…they can just grab that container and put it right by them.

TIP 5.
Go into it knowing there’s gonna be a mess….and be ok with it! You can always sweep up the sprinkles! Sometimes if you just have the right mindset, as a mama, you can enjoy the experience a lot more. (whatever it is!!) I remember I once told one of my kids that they were acting like a child……..hahaha. Oh Natalie. As soon as I said it out loud I laughed and so did they… “I AM A CHILD” Yep. we all have those mama moments! During this big, sometimes wild, family memory making moment…. I try to go into it knowing that it’s not gonna be picture perfect, calm and serene with silent night in the background. ;) Instead……. we most likely will have loud giggles and loopy sugared up children with the occasional fight over the last peppermint or someone licking the candy!! ;) And that’s ok. The key is to try and focus in on the fun and be grateful for the moment! The kids were being wild but “happy” wild! Their laughs and jokes together made me so happy. I especially love when the big kids and littles are into the fun together!

TIP 6.
Shop Seasonal and Non Seasonal Candy! We like to mix in a bit of both. I’ve found I can keep the cost down more when I do a little from the regular candy aisle and then the Holiday section!

TIP 7.
Contain the mess and make for easy display/moving around…by using a tray! I love the metal ones. These are from Target but you can also find great ones at the Dollar Tree, Walmart, Hobby Lobby, Joanns or AC Moore! My kids like to go all out with landscaping their houses and this gives them some room. ;) Also, when they sprinkle stuff on the roof, if any falls off it mostly ends up on the tray- so less mess!

Tip 8.
If you have a baby or toddler NOT participating in the decorating…try to plan around their naps or bed time. Hunter has been too little for this fun the past two years so I will get it all set up, put him down to bed, and then I have one less thing to juggle while helping the big kids decorate. Kind of a no brainer but sometimes just thinking ahead and planning it out can help reduce the chaos.

I hope you create some great family memories with your kiddos this Christmas with Gingerbread house Decorating fun!
I love how the kids’ houses turned out….we have our own little Village going!
Merry Christmas!