Last year, we bought some gingerbread kits from Trader Joe's, and I MacGyvered some pastry bags out of Ziploc bags for an impromptu Gingerbread House party. Everyone had a good time, and we turned out two houses. One that turned out exactly like the one on the box, and another that looked like... a Gingerbread House of Horror. Because we had so much fun last year, we wanted to host another one this year, and asked for input on two possible dates for the party. We got responses back from people saying they could make one date, but not the other, and it was split pretty much down the middle, so we decided to host the Gingerbread House party on both days.
First of all, unlike most Gingerbread Houses that you see nowadays, we actually used real gingerbread -- we prepared it the night before, and baked it a few hours before the party (to make sure we'd have enough gingerbread for all the houses). We also got some boxes of Graham crackers just in case people wanted more structural material. Our guests brought things to decorate the houses with (it's a good use of that leftover Halloween candy lying around) and we made two types of icing (cement-like icing and decorative frosting) with multiple colors. The results were fantastic.
flickr photoset: Gingerbread Houses (2006)
Here's a sample:
I've been making houses for a few years now. I love your creativity and thinking outside of the box. You can see my houses at www.valariespics.shutterfly.com the password is gingie
Wow, Valarie, your houses are nothing short of amazing. It'll be years yet before we can reach that level of craftsmanship. :)