The Best (and Worst) Gingerbread House Kits

The Results All Parents with Young Children Have Been Waiting for: The best and worst gingerbread house kits of the season! I recently volunteered in a fifth grade classroom to oversee and help about thirty 10-year-olds who were instructed to bring their own gingerbread house kit and build a gingerbread house. They were given an hour to build their house (or train, or village—there was quite a variety), and what I witnessed immediately was that some kids quickly assembled their houses and arrived at the fun part, the decorating, while others struggled with a pile of frosting-covered gingerbread pieces that collapsed time and time again. So what could I do (besides try to help them, some to no avail)? The journalist in me circulated the room and took notes about the best—and the worst—gingerbread house kits. Here are the winners and the losers, with as much information as I was able to garner from the kids about their purchases: BEST: The top two winners of the day were: 1. Wonka Gingerbread Cottage Kit ($9.99), and 2. Tootsie Roll Gingerbread Cottage Kit ($9.99) These two kits are made by a company called Bee, and are sold at Ralph’s supermarket. They were almost identical to each other, and very easy to assemble. The children with these kits quickly put their houses together (make sure you knead the icing well before opening), and had a great deal of fun decorating them with the delicious candies included in the box. The houses stood firm and solid, and the kids were happy! GOOD: Bed Bath & Beyond sells the Create-A-Treat gingerbread house kit ($9.99), which was not only easy to assemble and decorate, but the strong, high-quality icing left one child with his hands almost completely clean! (Note: This house may also be available at Albertson’s supermarket.) Tied with the BBB kit above was Trader Joe’s Gingerbread House Kit ($7.99). This kit is very easy to assemble, and contains adorable decorations such as two little people made of colorful sugar, a tiny tree, and a little dog. The only drawback is that the icing mixture requires one egg white and lemon juice or vinegar. One parent brought a canister of store-bought icing, which worked fine as a replacement icing. AVERAGE: Create-A-Treat also makes a gingerbread train kit ($9.99). The train was fairly easy to assemble, but the children did not seem as pleased with the train as they did with the house. UNCHALLENGING (and therefore below average): Wal-mart sells the Wilton gingerbread kit, which contains a pre-assembled house that is, of course, easy to decorate. However, this “no assembly required” situation took the challenge out of building a house, and the children with this version ended up with too much free time on their hands. They spent the afternoon squeezing icing into their mouths (and subsequently driving their teacher nuts!). POOR: Target sells a gingerbread cookie house kit in a cute house-shaped box with a convenient handle. Several children were able to assemble these houses, but soon after they did, the houses collapsed. Some kids were persistent enough to keep trying. They received help from classmates and adults who came to the rescue with extra icing (the kit apparently does not supply enough icing, which is the key to effectively assembling any solid gingerbread house). Still, some houses never stayed together. Several students sat with their arms crossed in frustration. Target also sells a gingerbread cookie village kit. This version comes with many small pieces, some of which were broken. The village was decidedly difficult to assemble, and therefore disappointing. WORST: The two worst kits were Bed Bath & Beyond’s Elf on the Shelf An Elf’s Story gingerbread house and Wal-mart’s Wilton gingerbread deluxe kit. Ironically, these were also the most expensive kits ($14.99). The Elf’s Story gingerbread house contained big, heavy, awkward pieces. It didn’t take an expert to see that the roof pieces were entirely too large and heavy to be held in place by the smaller pieces that comprised the base of the house. I tried helping one student with this kit, and while she was incredibly patient, the house never stayed together longer than a minute before it fell down again. (One of the pieces was also broken.) Finally, Wal-mart’s Wilton gingerbread deluxe kit was the biggest—literally—let down of the day. The pieces were too big and cumbersome to stay together for any amount of time. And the little girl who was stuck with this kit was a perfectionist; the teacher had to explain to her that it wasn’t her fault that the house would not work, but rather, the faulty construction of the kit. The two most important tips are to buy a middle-of-the-road-sized house (too big or too small makes the assembly difficult), and use plenty of icing. Happy gingerbread house hunting!