Following the tradition of tasty days, happy national Gingerbread house day! Gingerbread houses are amazing in every way, and we are very excited to take part in this day. Building Gingerbread houses are not only tasty and welcomed, but it can also be incredibly fun for all ages. We've made a list of some fun activities that all involve building and decorating Gingerbread houses, and all the cool skills you can learn from doing so. In addition to this, we've also included a list of some Gingerbread house D.I.Y. ideas that use different candy alternatives to help you build.
Adding math fun to gingerbread house making:
- You can use the gingerbread house to help with practicing math skills. One way to do this is to create a chart of the different pieces of the gingerbread house then graph them. To create your chart, use construction paper or regular paper and simply write the name of the piece on one side and the amount of the other for the chart. For example, Candy canes- 5. To create your graph, you must first decide what kind of graph you want to make, line, bar, pie, etc. Then you use your data from the chart to fill in your graph.
- Another way to use gingerbread houses to help with math skills is to add, subtract, multiply or divide each piece. For example, if you're using more than one candy cane, you would have your child add up how many candy canes they have on their house. You can subtract as you eat the house or if you decide to take a piece off. you could also create math problems based on the amount of each piece you have. For example, we have 5 candy canes, 5 round mints, and 10 gumdrops, how many pieces of candy do we have altogether? Or we have 5 candy canes and 5 round mints, what do we get if we multiply 5 by 5?
Adding language arts fun to gingerbread house making:
-You can help your young child expand their vocabulary by helping them name the different pieces and parts of the house. Older children can write a story about a gingerbread house or a how-to build your own gingerbread house guide.
These fun ideas for adding Math and Language fun to gingerbread house making can be added to store-bought build-your-own gingerbread houses as well as, any of the DIY homemade gingerbread house activities listed below!
Making a Gingerbread house doesn't necessarily mean you have to include a large amount of candy. There are many ways in which you can still build your Gingerbread house but include healthier food options for your decorations. Below is a list of some alternative gingerbread house items you can use to help you build.
Gingerbread house d.i.y ideas and candy alternatives
-Veggie Gingerbread House
carrot sticks
celery sticks
cucumbers
broccoli
cherry tomatoes
-Dried snacks Gingerbread House
pretzels
nuts
popcorn
cereal
seeds (pumpkin, sunflower, etc)
- Fruit Gingerbread House
Raisins
apple slices
various berries (raspberry, blueberry, etc)
kiwis
You can use any nut butter or equivalent as a replacement for the houses' icing. You can also use dried fruit instead of regular fruit in order to preserve the house longer. We also recommend asking your children what their favorite healthy food items are, and see if you can combine them, and turn it into their own healthy Gingerbread house!
Gingerbread house activities
-Gingerbread craft house
Use different craft items to create your own gingerbread house from scratch! In this activity, you can collect as many different craft items you can find, or use various household items to create your own Gingerbread house. Some items can include:
-Cardboard
-brown paper bags
- multi-colored pom poms
-Popsicle sticks
-construction paper
-glue
Gather your items, and let your children how they want to create and decorate their houses. One tip could be to write a list of different house items or go over what houses include, and ask them how they can create those items out of what they have. This activity lets children explore their creativeness and imagination, while also helping them expand on their cut and gluing skills, as they practice making different shapes and items for their house!
-Gingerbread house painting
In this activity, children create their own Gingerbread house paintings or drawings. All they will need is markers, painting supplies.
Start by going over what makes up a Gingerbread house. Make a list of the different items the children will need to include, and if they are younger, practice drawing each item. Supply your children with paint and paper, or markers, and let them create their gingerbread houses. As they paint and draw, ask them questions about what colors they will use for which items. Encourage them to be creative, and even mix colors. Ex: asking what will happen if we mix the red door color with the yellow roof to make a color for the windows paint. This activity helps children practice their color recognition skills, as well as letting your children be creative as descriptive as possible.
-Gingerbread house math game
For this last activity, children practice their math skills as they build their own Gingerbread house. You can combine this activity with our two previous activities. As the children build their houses, ask them questions about each item. You can make it a fun math game by counting the items, then asking how many of each item do we have? If you are making multiple houses, ask questions such as "if we have three windows on this house, but take one away and add it to this house, how many windows does each house have?
Below are links for additional ways to have fun with gingerbread houses:
This link includes some fun math activities and printables!
This link is for a "roll a gingerbread house" game. It includes a free printable activity and direction for the game. This game can also be used when creating a gingerbread house with your children. You would use the same numbers or make up your own values for each piece then have your child roll dice to try to make each value before adding the piece.
This link has coloring pages of gingerbread houses! Making for a fun easy and mess-free way to celebrate National Gingerbread House Day!
This link is to another great build your own paper or card stock gingerbread house printable. You can also print out the piece on regular paper then trace them onto cardboard to make a more sturdy house!