Storybook Gingerbread House for a New Holiday Tradition

I’m excited to share another children’s story and craft combo with you. This gingerbread house craft is made with popsicle sticks and decorated with easy-to-find embellishments. Yes, you can leave it up the entire holiday season. You can even save it to put up year after year.

 

Kids' gingerbread house craft made with popsicle sticks and non-food items from the craft box. This is a big kid activity that will hold their attention! Includes a story to accompany the craft.

 

And, to make this gingerbread house craft more meaningful, I’ve found a sweet picture book to go with it.

(Books and Giggles is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.)

 

Gingerbread Mouse by Katy Bratun (affiliate) is about a mouse who looks for a new home, and for a while lives in a gingerbread house. It’s a cute Christmas story that shows persistence and captures the imagination.

 

 

It will also help give your child some context when making a gingerbread house. You can read the story before you start your craft.

 

Kids' gingerbread house craft made with popsicle sticks and items from the craft box. This is a big kid activity that will hold their attention! Includes a story to accompany the craft.

 

Then, while the paint and glue dries, you can read the story again.  Let your child tell you what new details he or she noticed the second time. Look closely together at the illustrations of the gingerbread house. Have fun discussing what it would be like living in a candy house!

 

You can get creative with how you decorate your gingerbread house. Depending on the age and inclination of your kid, you may want to allow him to brainstorm with you. For younger children, it’s probably better to just put a few choices out.

 

RELATED: Craft Stick Christmas Tree Ornaments

I’ll share what I used, plus give you instructions and a few tips.

 

Kids' gingerbread house craft made with popsicle sticks and non-food items from the craft box. This is a big kid activity that will hold their attention! Includes a story to accompany the craft.

 

Gingerbread House Craft – Materials

Gingerbread House

  • 18 Popsicle sticks
  • Glue
  • Brown acrylic paint
  • White acrylic paint
  • Paintbrush
  • Smock or paint shirt for each child

Embellishments I used

  • Craft jewels
  • Assorted beads
  • Peppermint mini-erasers (I found mine at Dollar Tree)
  • Ribbon scraps
  • Edge of a paper doily
  • Pom poms
  • Baker’s twine
  • Unrolled cotton ball

You also could use…

  • Pipe cleaners
  • Tissue paper
  • Glitter (if you dare!)
  • Buttons
  • Craft foam
  • Fabric scraps
  • Stickers
  • And more!

 

Gingerbread House Craft – Instructions

 

1.  Lay out the popsicle sticks as shown below. For the roof, I discovered that I could cut popsicle sticks with cheap regular adult scissors. Pieces may go flying, so be careful.

Kids' gingerbread house craft made with popsicle sticks and non-food items from the craft box. This is a big kid activity that will hold their attention! Includes a story to accompany the craft.
Back

 

Kids' gingerbread house craft made with popsicle sticks and non-food items from the craft box. This is a big kid activity that will hold their attention! Includes a story to accompany the craft.
Front

2. Glue the sticks together, and let dry overnight

3. Paint the whole front of the house brown. Let dry. Then paint white accents. I drew the door on in pencil, then painted it in. Let dry. Acrylic paint dries pretty quickly unless your child lays it on too thickly. Be patient.

4. Glue on embellishments. If your child has trouble controlling the glue bottle, use a paint brush or a cotton swab to apply the glue.

 

My 6-year olds are super-excited to make their own craft stick gingerbread houses. I think it will be one of the first few activities we do once we start our Advent calendar. I have a feeling I’ll be pulling out their sweet creations every year. I’d love to line several up across my mantel.
Kids' gingerbread house craft made with popsicle sticks and non-food items from the craft box. This is a big kid activity that will hold their attention! Includes a story to accompany the craft.

 

I’m linking this post up with a very special series called the 12 Days of Christmas. A huge group of bloggers are sharing Christmas ideas for kids. Be sure to click on the photo-link below and check them out.

 

 

18 Comments

  1. I love this gingerbread house. I buy one of the kits to make a gingerbread house each year. We used to do them as an annual tradition with our first one, but often we ever get to them now. Maybe we will try this popscile stick gingerbread house instead. We seem to be better at crafts.

    1. Yes, I think to make gingerbread houses like this in a classroom setting you probably wouldn't want to go much below second grade unless you had someone make the popsicle stick part ahead of time. I don't think my 6 year old twins will be able to do it independently. They should do fine with me sitting next to them guiding them through, though. I know they can do the decorating independently – totally their kind of project.

  2. This is a great idea but could you please explain what sides that you need to cut the popsicle sticks for the roof?

      1. I just saw your email with clarification. I’ll answer here as well so other readers can benefit too. Here are the roof measurements:
        The bottom 2 are full size (about 11.5 cm). The next ones up are aprox. 9 cm, 6 cm, 5 cm, and 2 cm. I hope that helps!

        Heather

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