The Gingerbread Village Guide

12.05.2019

– a little inspiration –
FOR A JOYOUS COLLABORATION

Our very own Melissa Foster is chairing a Gingerbread Village Holiday event! During the event kids come to create a “gingerbread” village for donation to a local Senior Center. This year, there will be about 100 children! This inspiration board serves to encourage the kids to try and think beyond candy canes & gumdrops. In addition, they won’t even be using gingerbread! You can also check out this Pinterest board for more decorating inspo! The structures will be made of things like Amazon boxes, cracker boxes, milk cartons and other recyclables.

This is a photo of the milk carton Melissa and her daughter used to make a tall house while testing the GGB frosting glue recipe. They had so much fun poking through the pantry to see what they could use. And to top it off, they bought NOTHING! (well, except the meringue powder for frosting— who has that?!).

Swap Sweet for Savory!

Nuts, crackers, beans, chips, granola bars, and other earthy-colored savory snacks create the texture and warmth of age-old architecture. Rustic cobblestones and clunky rooftops are the perfectly imperfect finish for a cozy cottage creation.

Pretzels Please!

Pretzels come in so many fun shapes & sizes, and when they all come together they scream one thing; LOG CABIN! Pair them with some bird seed and you can mimic the look of stone columns or wood burning chimneys nestled deep in the woods.

Little Shoppe of Florals!

Every village needs a local florist. Cover your shoppe in garden green for a whimsical standout look. Use pre-made cake decorating sugar flowers and watch your shoppe bloom into something truly unique for this holiday village.

For Chocolate Lovers!

Nearly every type of candy bar is covered in chocolate. Imagine the fun you can have with the different shapes, sizes and textures! Consider making it into the village library, hotel or even the local pub!

Think Outside the House!

Villages need more than just houses, so consider using alternate materials to give our village some height & shape variation. Suggestions: Taller buildings, chapels, retail spaces, a fire house, ice skating rink, or even row house apartments (to name just a few). You can also use different building recyclable materials other than gingerbread like milk cartons or cardboard boxes!

Trees Set the Tone!

Whether you decorate them or leave them with just a dusting of snow, the trees surrounding your structure make a the holiday season sing. Here are inspirational techniques on expert tree-making.

All the Little Things!

The details MAKE the design. And let’s face it, not EVERYONE can be working on the main structure at once, so have some of your fellow TI class members work on those little added extras that make a HUGE difference.

 

That Holiday Glow!

Maybe it’s the village beauty parlor or the local ice cream shoppe? You can use some glitz and non-traditional colors to create a wow-factor in our holiday village. Sparkly metallics, strictly pastels, or even bold bright neons create a burst of utter glee by incorporating the use of materials such as metallic sprinkles, shiny beads, craft glitter, and metallic coated candies.

Up on the Roof Top! (and the siding)

Everything from chewing gum, sour ribbons, sprinkles, and good ‘ol Eggo waffles can be used to coat the surfaces of your roof top and/ or siding. Here are some images to get your creative ideas flowing.

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