Gingerbread House Traditions

When Elizabeth and I first started scouting Christmas products for our new Christmas Mini-Trunks, I knew we had to have a gingerbread house theme available. Making a family gingerbread house is one of my favorite Christmas traditions and an excellent way to spend an afternoon together.

The first time my family made a gingerbread house, I was six and my brother was two. My mom saw a kit in the grocery store and thought it would be a good way to spend the day together. My father thought she'd lost her mind. When we emerged hours later, it turned out they were both right: we were all covered in frosting and a family tradition had been born.

The thing about this tradition is that it has adapted to every stage of life for us. When we were younger, we used a kit and made traditional houses. As we got older, we abandoned the kits and built elaborate displays out of cardboard before covering them in egg white cement and homemade gingerbread logs and bricks. When my kids got old enough to participate, my parents invited my kids to spend the night at their house so that they could build the house together and then "surprised" me when I came to pick them up. Some years we experiment with new roofing materials or order miniature props to help set the stage. We've attempted stained glass and log cabins. We've taken inspiration from books (see: Hogwarts) and travel (see: the Duomo in Florence and Big Ben in London).

This year, we get to initiate my niece into the tradition and so it will be back to basics: a few smaller structures with simple decorations. The Handstand Kitchen Make Your Own Gingerbread Village cookie cutters and decorating tips will be perfect for little hands and attention spans.

I love any family tradition where we get to spend an afternoon in the kitchen, unplugged, listening to Christmas music, and working together on something we can all be proud of. It's increasingly rare to find ways for the extended family to spend time together in a way that is creative, honors individual gifts and talents, and works for people of all ages. All of the Streamer Trunk Christmas Mini-Trunks have that as their goal. Here's to core memories and family traditions!