Gingerbread house contest
Teams build and decorate gingerbread houses against the clock, then a judge crowns the best.
- Guests
- 8-20 guests (teams of 2-4)
- Party length
- 3 hours
- Prep time
- 2-3 hours (or a day if baking your own)
- Ages
- All ages
What it is
Teams compete to build the best gingerbread house. Use ready-made kits to keep it simple, or bake your own panels for a bigger challenge. The houses become the party decorations and each team takes theirs home.
Plan ahead
- Two weeks before: decide teams and buy one kit per team. If baking, find a template and bake panels 1-2 days ahead so they firm up.
- One week before: buy extra decorations: chocolate buttons, candy canes, mini marshmallows, pretzels, sprinkles, ice-cream cones (for trees) and icing sugar.
- The day before: make royal icing (or use a mix) and keep it covered with a damp cloth.
Set the scene
Give each team a station with a board, icing bags, a bowl of sweets and a mug of cutlery. Put a festive tablecloth down, string fairy lights and play Christmas songs. Write the category scores on a chalkboard.
How to build
- Base: pipe a thick line of icing where the first wall goes.
- Walls: stand the front and one side wall together, hold them for 1-2 minutes until they stick, then add the others. Use tins as props.
- Set: wait 20-30 minutes before adding the roof.
- Roof: pipe icing along the tops of the walls and press both roof panels on, holding them in place.
- Decorate: pipe icicles along the roof edge, tile it with chocolate buttons, add a pretzel fence, ice-cream cone trees with green icing, and icing sugar “snow”.
Judging
Award points for structure (is it standing?), creativity, and overall wow. Give prizes so every team wins a category: “best roof”, “most candy”, “best story”, “most likely to collapse”.
Food and drink
- Mulled wine and mulled apple juice
- Mince pies and sausage rolls
- Hot chocolate with marshmallows for kids
- Cheese board for the adults
Tips
- Royal icing sets hard and fast - keep bowls covered.
- Give each team a big cardboard box to carry their house home.
On the day
- Arrival (20 min): mulled drinks and festive music, teams are formed.
- Build (30 min): assemble the walls and roof with royal icing; leave to set.
- Food break (20 min) while the icing hardens.
- Decorate (45 min): sweets, icing snow, trees and characters.
- Judging (15 min): a guest judge scores each house.
- Prizes and dessert (20 min).
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