Gingerbread houses are a fun family project that can also double as your holiday table centerpiece. We found the cutest ideas from tiny houses to grand hotels to inspire you.
53 Amazing Gingerbread House Ideas Even Novices Can Make
Updated on Sep. 27, 2024
It’s beginning to smell a lot like Christmas
After you’ve whipped up your DIY Christmas ornaments, DIY Christmas decorations, and tried your hand at some Christmas crafts for kids, it’s time to move on to a festive gingerbread house. Christmas is hardly complete without one on display in your home, and the smell of gingerbread baking is one of the quintessential holiday scents. Gingerbread house ideas run the gamut from tiny houses to mansions, office buildings to ski chalets, and you can make whichever you and your family want! If the rest of your Christmas decor fits a theme, then go ahead and make your gingerbread house match. The beauty of these cookie treats is that they’re versatile.
Gingerbread houses are a great way for your family to create Christmas traditions in making them together. What is Christmas if not spending time with loved ones? Ahead, you’ll find a whole bunch of gingerbread house ideas that anyone can make—even if you’re a beginner in the kitchen.
Fancy Gingerbread House
Put a little extra time and care in creating this intricate gingerbread house; it has so many tiny details that make it over-the-top fancy. It goes perfectly with some of our other favorite Christmas decoration ideas, too.
Gingerbread Barn
You can make a whole farm scene with gingerbread—animals and all. Frost the barn in red, and you’re all set to welcome the animals. While this barn is better inside, there are plenty of outdoor Christmas decoration ideas to leave outside your home.
Gingerbread Birdhouse
Give the neighborhood birds a place to nestle for the holidays with a gingerbread birdhouse. This sweet spot is extra festive and even includes pinecones. This sweet little house will look perfect on display with these Christmas wreath ideas.
Family Gingerbread Log Cabin
Give a nod to everyone in the family by icing their names onto your gingerbread house. Better yet, let each family member add their name in their own style. Check out the winners of America’s largest gingerbread house competition for inspiration.
Gingerbread House Cookies
Your gingerbread house doesn’t have to be 3D, especially if you want to feed a group of people. With gingerbread cookies, you still have the houses, but everyone gets their own. You could even tuck one of these into everyone’s personalized Christmas stockings for Christmas morning!
Tiny Gingerbread House
Everything is cuter when it’s miniature. You could make one of these for each guest if you’re having a holiday party so that everyone has a sweet treat. Before you make your next batch, find out your favorite Christmas cookie, according to your zodiac.
Gingerbread House With Candied Windows
You can give your gingerbread house a stained glass effect with melted hard candies in the windows. Use whichever colors make you happy—and go bold! Making these gingerbread houses with the family could be one of the Christmas activities you all do together this year.
Icy Gingerbread House
For a wintry escape, make sure your gingerbread house is dripping in icicles. Add fondant elves for a whimsical touch.
Mini Gingerbread Houses
If the thought of making a large gingerbread house intimidates you, start with these smaller versions. They’re a little easier to handle, but they look beautiful all the same. These little houses could even be Christmas tree toppers if you shape them just so!
Cross Stitch Gingerbread House
It definitely takes patience to give a gingerbread house the cross stitch look, but it’s also extremely impressive. It requires starting with a checkerboard print and then piping in the squares you want to create a pattern. You may not even want to eat this gingerbread when you’ve finished creating it!
LEGO Gingerbread House
If you’re not into baking or just want a different way to display a gingerbread house, there’s always the LEGO version. The whole family can come together to build it, and best of all, you can re-use it year after year.
Wintry Gingerbread House
It looks like these gingerbread people got completely snowed in! You can add snow, icicles, and an edible glittery finish to a gingerbread house to get this effect.
Candy Gingerbread House
Jellybeans may be a spring candy but they’ll be right at home on your gingerbread house. Combine them with other candies for the sweetest treat. Once you’ve whipped up this gingerbread house, find out how to decorate for the holidays, according to your zodiac.
Christmas Village Houses
How sweet are these miniature gingerbread houses? Craft a collection for a winter village and display the whole town next to one of these best artificial Christmas trees.
Winter Wonderland Gingerbread House
Place your entire gingerbread house into a wintery getaway with a snowy landscape, complete with a faux ski lift. This gingerbread house is not only coated in snow, but it has festive snowmen outside in Load yours up with all the tasty trimmings!he snow too.
Rainbow Gingerbread Cottage
Celebrate the holidays in style with this festive abode. It’s fully decked out in all the tasty trimmings.
Gingerbread Building
Gingerbread people need a place to go to work, which means you need to create a gingerbread building for them to work in. This is also reminiscent of the design of homes in many cities around the world, such as London, Paris, and Amsterdam.
Candy-Coated Gingerbread House
Kids will love covering their gingerbread houses in all their favorite candies. Set out a variety of treats—ideally in different colors and textures—and let them be as creative as they want to be.
Whimsical Gingerbread House
If you dust your whole gingerbread house in sanding sugar, it will be a glittery, just snowed winterscape.
Ultra Mini Gingerbread House
Your holiday hot chocolate calls for a teeny tiny gingerbread house to go with it. Make one of these small houses that you can rest right on the lip of your mug.
Outdoorsy Gingerbread House
This gingerbread house looks like it belongs in the country or in the woods. It’s a whimsical, outdoors-inspired structure fit for a fairy tale.
Gingerbread House With Sprinkles
One of the easiest ways to spice up a gingerbread house is with rainbow sprinkles. Simply coat the outside with your favorite frosting and dip it in sprinkles.
Ice Cream Gingerbread House
Line up ice cream cones with either cupcakes or frosting in them for structural support and added whimsy.
Gingerbread Mansion
Only the fanciest gingerbread men and women live in gingerbread mansions. Take your gingerbread pieces and glue them all together with frosting to create a regally delicious dwelling.
Christmas Graham Houses
Sometimes you just need to simplify things, and that’s where graham crackers come in. Whip up some gingerbread houses using a box of graham crackers and icing in no time at all.
Brick Gingerbread House
You can use a brick patterned cookie cutter to create this effect or draw the bricks in yourself with a marker with edible ink. If you want to make it look really authentic, try building the house out of small brick-shaped pieces.
Gingerbread House With Pretzel Fence
For personal privacy, the gingerbread people need a fence! You can build one with pretzel sticks in the frosting. Plus, it just looks adorable and brings the whole house together.
Snowflake Gingerbread House
With a fine-tip piping bag, draw on snowflakes of all shapes and sizes. This creates a winter feel that’s elegant and not quite so Christmas-focused.
Floral Gingerbread House
With a delicate piping bag, you can add pretty little flowers to your gingerbread house. Add as many or as few as you’d like, and you can even place the house in a “yard” and pipe more flowers on the grass.
Gingerbread White House
If you’re feeling ambitious, try creating the White House out of gingerbread. It will take patience and a lot of ingredients, but it sure does look impressive.
Gingerbread Shack
This is probably the cutest shack you’ll ever see. This small gingerbread house is candy-coated goodness, but just small enough to be sweet as can be.
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Chocolate Gingerbread House
Who says your gingerbread house has to be traditional and covered in snow? Douse it in whatever sweet treat makes you happy—like chocolate sauce. You could also use caramel or butterscotch syrup. Just be ready to eat it immediately—or be prepared to catch the drips.
Gingerbread Clock Tower
A gingerbread structure like this will absolutely be the centerpiece of your holiday display. Build an entire town around it for a whole gingerbread village and the best holiday display for miles around.
Festive Gingerbread House
Let your love of the holidays shine through with a truly festive gingerbread display. This house has Christmas cookies and Christmas candies in a delightful mix and match display.
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Cinnamon Gingerbread House
Adorn your gingerbread houses with cinnamon candies for added flair. You can use candy canes or hard candies to add some color and sweetness.
Gingerbread Table Setting
Bring your gingerbread house and all its decor to your holiday table with these table settings. The cookies will add a cozy aroma to the meal, plus they’re dessert built right into the decor.
Winter Gingerbread House
Instead of relying on Christmas colors, make your gingerbread house a wintry blue shade instead. The color will pop against wintry white or red and green décor.
Gingerbread Village
Don’t stop at just one gingerbread house: Create a whole village with trees and animals. Whatever your space allows, fill it with gingerbread structures.
Snowy Gingerbread House
Dust your whole gingerbread house in powdered sugar for the freshly fallen snow look. Brr!
Gingerbread Chalet
Take inspiration from your favorite ski chalet to create an inviting gingerbread house. Don’t forget to nestle it in a bed of snow, ready for skiers.
Christmas Gingerbread House
If you want to really highlight Christmas, consider decking the halls with nothing but red, white, and green. You can use candy, frosting, and anything else you can find in these classic Christmas colors.
Gingerbread Hotel
It doesn’t get much bigger and brighter than this. There’s no limit to how big and decorated your gingerbread house can be—make it a full hotel! If you’ve got the time and inspiration, go big and bright like this one.
Halloween Gingerbread House
Maybe Christmas isn’t your thing, and that’s totally fine. Decorate your gingerbread house to honor your favorite holiday instead—even if it’s spooky Halloween.
Pink Gingerbread House
For an alternative take on the holidays, go with fun, funky colors, like this pink, black, and blue house. You can use whichever colors you love most.
Cookie-Covered Gingerbread House
Why not decorate your gingerbread house with … more cookies? This house does just that, by using smaller cookies to act as decorative accents.
Snow-Covered Gingerbread House
Sometimes, the most beautiful gingerbread houses are ones that let the cookies and icing speak for themselves. This snow-covered gingerbread house is just that.
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Gingerbread Home
There are gingerbread houses, and then there are gingerbread homes. Make a larger structure with homey accents like colorful columns and LED lights to really make your gingerbread people feel cozy.
Gingerbread Cabin
This gingerbread cabin comes ready for the holidays, and is so easy to make! Take a shortcut and decorate with pre-made snowflake sprinkles.
Gingerbread Reindeer
Santa needs a way to get to your gingerbread house, right? So he’ll have to use a gingerbread sleigh pulled by these gingerbread reindeer!
Alpine Gingerbread House
This gingerbread house is clearly full of love. It has sweetheart decor, as well as stars and snow.
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Cable Knit Gingerbread House
Use your icing skills to make your gingerbread house look like it’s wearing a cable-knit sweater. This ties together multiple aspects of winter in the best way.
Holiday Party Gingerbread House
Completle with wreaths, candy canes, jingle bells, Christmas trees, and more, this holiday gingerbread house is truly ready to welcome family and friends for festivities.
Christmas Graham Cracker House
This house uses graham crackers in place of gingerbread, which makes it a perfect project for kids.
