Use our house template printable to make a beautiful paper gingerbread house craft. Mix and match for an unique look.
Today we’re making a gingerbread house paper craft and because one house is not enough, we’re creating a whole village. Well, actually, it will be only three houses. But we can use our imagination and think of it as a village.
These gingerbread houses are a nice addition to our collection of Christmas paper crafts for kids. You can pair them with this cute gingerbread man.
The first time I heard about a gingerbread house was from the Hansel and Gretel story. According to some researchers, it looks like that was the original gingerbread house – the one that started this wonderful tradition.
The origin of the gingerbread houses
After the Grimm’s fairy tale was published, German bakers started making decorated fairy-tale houses from gingerbread. They became popular during Christmas. This tradition that started in Germany, in the early 1880s, came to America with the German immigrants.
After I moved to the US, I was also able to see these beautiful gingerbread houses during the holidays. But I got to make one for the first time only a couple of years ago.
Technically, I didn’t actually make it, just helped others create theirs. I volunteered for both my kids’ Christmas parties and in kindergarten they made gingerbread houses. After I saw how they were made, we replicated them at home too. And now that I learned how the tricks, it’s starting to become a family Christmas tradition.
These gingerbread houses aren’t made from cookies and decorated with candies. Instead we only used paper and a gingerbread house template that I have created.
The gingerbread house craft template comes with several options for the window, door and side door decorations. This way kids can make several houses that won’t look alike.
They can write a short Christmas message on the back of the gingerbread houses and give them to grandma or grandpa as a Christmas cards.
If you’re looking for gingerbread house crafts for preschool, this one is perfect. Students will practice their fine motor skills by scissors cutting the patterns and gluing them together.
Our gingerbread house craft is also good for kindergartners as well as older kids.
Just imagine a whole classroom decorated with these gingerbread houses. It would look magical.
Paper gingerbread house craft
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Supplies:
How to make a gingerbread house for kids
The Gingerbread house template comes with two versions:
1. home template – print the template, cut out the patterns and trace them on appropriate colored paper
2. classroom template – print the pattern directly on colored paper and cut them out.
This way you can easily craft with just one or two kids as well as with a classroom full of students.
STEP BY STEP DIRECTIONS FOR HOME CRAFTING
Print the home template, cut out the patterns and trace them on corresponding colored paper. While some patterns like the houses or the roof snow call for specific colors, you can use any colors of your choice for most of the patterns.
The template comes with several options for you to choose from:
- 3 window options
- 3 door options
- 3 side door decoration options
To make the gingerbread houses, you will need 1 beige house, 1 white roof snow, 1 window (with details depending on the window option you choose), 1 door (with details depending on the door option you choose), 2 side door decorations (with details depending on the decoration option you choose).
Start by gluing the door at the bottom of the house.
Add the door details, if the door you chose to use comes with any.
Glue the window on top of the door.
Add the decorations onto the house, one decoration on each side of the door.
Glue the roof snow on top of the gingerbread house.
Use a black marker to draw the details.
You will need a red marker or pencil for the candy cane stripes.
STEP BY STEP DIRECTIONS FOR classroom CRAFTING
The classroom directions are included with the template.